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Price  25  Cents 


he  Co=opolitan 


By  Zebina  Forbush 


A  STORY  OF  THE  CO-OPERATIVE 
COnnONWEALTH  OF  IDAHO. 


Charles  H.  Kerr  &  Company,  Publishers 

56  FIFTH  AVENUE,  CHICAGO 


THE 
CO-OPOLITAN 


A  Story  of  the   Co-operative   Commonwealth 
of  Idaho. 


BY 
ZEBINA  FORBUSH. 


'Tis  corning  up  the  Steep  of  Time 

And  this  old  World  is  growing  brighter." 

—  Gerald  Maxsry. 


CHICAGO: 

CHARLES  H.  KERR  &  COMPANY. 
1898. 


PAGE  2 


Copyright  1898 
By  CHARLES  H.  KERR  &  COMPANY. 


Library  of  Progress.    No.  'J6.    Quarterly.    $1.00  a  year.     February,  1898- 
Eutered  at  the  Postoffice,  Chicago,  as  second-class  matter. 


PEEFACE. 

This  volume  is  given  to  the  public  without  other  excuse 
than  the  simple  fact  that  it  has  been  written.  If  it  is  read 
it  may  do  some  good,  but  in  any  event  it  cannot  do  injury. 
If  it  is  not  read  the  hour  which  knew  it  will  pass  with 
it,  and  countless  hours,  like  waves  in  Time's  ocean,  will 
roll  on  multitudinously,  with  their  burdens  of  good  and 
evil,  and  pass  also. 

Because  the  writer  believed  he  had  a  thought  to  express, 
which,  if  heeded,  would  help,  in  some  slight  degree,  to 
right  human  wrongs,  he  ventured  to  offer  it  in  this  form. 
He  had  discovered  by  experience  that  no  radical  and  per 
manent  reform  can  be  successfully  effected  without  the 
consent  of  what  are  called  "the  substantial  business  inter 
ests"  of  the  established  system. 

He  has  also  observed  that  the  system  now  in  operation 
is  constantly  undergoing  changes,  and  that  our  predeces 
sors  in  its  control,  of  a  quarter  of  a  centmy  ago,  \vould 
scarcely  recognize  the  system  by  which  we  live  to-day. 
These  changes  have  been  accomplished  through  evolution 
only.  Xumbers  count  for  nothing.  Millions  submit  read 
ily  to  the  will  of  one. 

Education  counts  for  everything,  and  if  we  had  been 
taught  that  to  stand  on  our  heads  an  hour  a  day  was  essen 
tial  to  salvation  most  of  us  would  observe  that  form  with 
out  question.  Some,  however,  are  superior  to  error  and 
are  strong  enough  to  be  and  to  do  right.  But  these  are 
scattered.  They  argue  Vith  their  unthinking  neighbors 


4  PREFACE. 

and  are  ridiculed  for  their  pains.  Such  methods  never  did 
succeed  and  the  world  is  as  much  out  of  gear  with  right 
eousness  to-day  as  it  was  in  the  dark  ages. 

This  is  the  trouble  with  political  Co-operation.  It  can 
not  succeed  except  in  a  very  slight  measure.  Why?  Be 
cause  industrial  and  commercial  education  are  against  it. 
Because  the  Industrial  System  is  against  it.  Because  the 
great,  the  powerful  and  strong  are  against  it.  Political  Co 
operation  has  no  money  with  which  to  compete  with  the 
competitive  system.  Righteousness  without  money  is  a 
will-o'-the-wisp  as  against  Mephisto,  with  millions  in  the 
competitive  system. 

Co-operation  must  enter  the  lists  with  means  and  weap 
ons  similar  to  its  opponents,  or  else  it  will  fail.  Therefore 
the  writer  proposes  that  the  profits  of  co-operation  be 
matched  against  the  profits  of  competition,  and  if  co 
operation  can  "win  out"  then  the  profit  system  is  dead. 

Let  us  raise  the  cry  of  Industrial  Co-operation  against 
Industrial  Competition,  and  then  go  to  work.  When  we  are 
strong  enough  we  will  do  what  Industrial  Competition  in 
the  form  of  corporations  and  syndicates  has  done.  We  will 
become  political.  Industrially  we  can  grow  as  all  indus 
trial  institutions  have,  and  when  we  are  grown  to  a  magni 
tude  which  forces  recognition,  the  world  is  ours  and  again 
belongs,  not  to  a  few,  but  to  all  of  us. 

This  little  volume  is  designed  to  show,  in  part,  what  an 
opportunity  we  have  to  plant  the  flag  of  Industrial  Co 
operation  on  American  soil  and  defend  it  as  it  cannot  be 
defended  in  any  other  country. 

Yours  Fraternally, 

THE  AUTHOR. 


THE  CO-OPOLITAN 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  YEAR  1897. 

During  the  entire  existence  of  the*  great  American  re 
public  no  year  seemed  more  hopeless  to  the  masses  of  its 
people  than  the  year  189T. 

It  is-  true  that  the  dark  hours  of  conflict,  when  separa 
tion  from  Great  Britain  was  sought  at  the  cannon's  mouth, 
and  later,  when  civil  strife  nearly  rent  the  nation  in  twain, 
seemed,  to  superficial  observers,  to  be  more  fraught  with 
danger. 

But  the  problems  of  those  times  could  -be  and  were  read 
ily  understood.  Success  to  the  arms  of  the  patriots,  in  the 
one  case,  and  the  Unionists  in  the  other,  was  a  simple 
solution,  although  distressing  in  its  pursuit  and  difficult 
of  achievement. 

But  this  year  was  one  which  was  the  culmination  of 
many  years  of  singular  abundance,  blessed  by  nature  in  al 
most  every  conceivable  way,  and  yet  by  a  strange  contradic 
tion  of  circumstances  full  of  sorrow,  distress,  hunger  and 
poverty. 

The  wealth  of  this,  the  richest  country  in  the  world,  was 
made  valueless  by  reason  of  the  belief  on  the  part  of  its 
people  that  it  must  borrow  the  right  to  use  that  wealth 
from  other  nations.  The  supplies  of  food,  clothing  and 
materials  of  all  kinds  were  vast,  and  yet  the  inhabitants 
for  some  cause  were  not  able  to  obtain  them,  although 
their  needs  were  great.  There  were  now  a  few  rich  and 
many — very  many — extremely  poor. 

It  was  this  strange,  contradictory  confusing  and  incom- 


6  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

prehensible  condition  which  made  men  hopeless.  Where 
to  look  for  help,  what  to  do,  the  cause,  the  consequence, 
the  evil  and  the  remedy,  wore  all  subjects  of  agitation  and 
deep  concern.  Everybody  except  those  few  who  were  sat 
isfied  with  any  condition  which  did  not  disturb  their  own 
happiness,  had  views  on  these  subjects  and  had  conceived 
of  some  remedy.  And  the  multiplicity  of  these  views  and 
the  innumerable  varieties  of  remedies  proposed,  seemed 
to  aggravate  the  general  despair  and  produce  an  increasing 
paralysis  of  action. 

It  was  in  January  of  that  dismal  year  that  I  found  myself 
in  the  great  city  of  Chicago.  I,  too,  had  been  affected  by 
the  universal  depreciation  of  property,  so  that  a  fortune  of 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  which  I  had  inherited  from  my 
parents,  was  now  dubiously  estimated  to  have  dwindled  to 
something  like  ten  thousand  dollars.  I  knew  it  was  not 
my  fault. 

Bank  stocks,  railroad  stocks  and  mining  stocks,  repre 
sented  the  bulk  of  my  poor,  deceased  father's  savings  and 
investments. 

Much  of  this  could  not  attract  buyers  at  any  price.  Some 
could  not  be  given  away.  The  rest  was  convertible  into 
gold  at  a  few  cents  on  the  dollar. 

But  I  was  too  young,  being  only  twenty-five  years  of  age. 
to  become  despondent  over  the  loss  of  money,  and  I  had 
traveled  so  extensively  about  my  own  country  and  seen 
its  countless  opportunities  that  I  felt  a  certain  elation  in 
the  prospect  of  building  up  a  fortune  of  my  own. 

So  that,  although  a  stranger  in  Chicago,  wTith  no  friends 
nearer  than  Massachusetts,  and  without  the  smallest  idea 
of  a  plan  for  the  future,  I  yet  had  a  firm  belief  in  God,  man, 
my  country  and  myself. 

I  did  not  ever  doubt  the  system  which  had  robbed  me 
of  my  fortune,  and  was  inclined  to  look  upon  all  who 
denounced  it  as  hostile  to  the  best  interests  of  mankind. 

My  education  was,  in  a  large  measure,  responsible  for 
this.  Born  in  Salem,  Massachusetts,  one  of  the  oldest, 
sleepiest  and  most  conservative  of  American  cities,  edu- 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  7 

cated  in  her  schools  and  in  one  of  the  staid  old  colleges, 
for  which  Xew  England  was  justly  famous.,  how  could  I 
have  imbibed  anything-  but  ancient,  sleepy  and  conservative 
theories  of  political  economy,  and  fine.,  staid  and  somewhat 
musty  notions  of  the  end  and  purpose  of  man? 

It  is  true  that  my  extensive  travels  had  broadened  me 
somewhat  mentally.  They  had  taught  me  the  value  of  in 
dividual  men  and  had  rather  obliterated  sectional  pride, 
which  I  was  willing  to  confess  was  the  besetting  sin  of  the 
average  New  Englander;  they  had  made  me  acquainted 
with  manners  and  customs  and  had  produced  in  me  a 
capability  of  adjusting  myself  to  delicate  situations. 

But  this  sort  of  breadth,  while  excellent  and  service 
able,  did  not  render  me  tolerant  of  ideas  which  were  at 
variance  with  those  commonly  accepted.  My  distinguish 
ing  characteristic,  on  which  I  prided  myself  not  a  little, 
was  an  almost  encyclopedic  knowledge  of  the  history  and 
resources  of  my  own  country.  I  mention  this  particularly 
now,  because  I  had  occasion,  later  on.,  to  turn  my  knowl 
edge  to  a  very  useful  purpose. 

1  was  inclined  to  remain  in  Chicago.  There  was  no  rea 
son  for  it  which  I  had  defined  to  myself,  and  I  really  be 
lieve  that,  of  all  the  dismal  places  I  had  ever  seen,  Chicago 
was  the  most  dismal  at  that  time.  I  did  not  have  any 
occupation,  attraction  or  hope  to  keep  me  in  this  mael 
strom  of  the  human  ocean. 

I  did  not  like  ifc  I  had  no  friends  in  it.  I  did  not 
seem  to  find  companions.  Indeed,  I  was  happy  in  being 
alone,  and  enjoyed  a  certain  discontent,  which  was  pro 
ductive  of  though tf illness*,  and  which  set  me  to  expressing 
my  thoughts  on  paper. 

Governed  by  an  instinctive  prudence,  which  is  charac 
teristic  of  the  New  England  mind,  I  had  selected  a  room 
in  a  respectable  private  house,  where  there  were  also  t\vo 
other  roomers,  and  took  my  meals  at  a  neighboring  res 
taurant. 


CHAPTER  IT. 

JOHN  THOMPSON— CO-OPERATION 

One  day  after  I  had  been  settled  in  Chicago  for,  perhaps, 
two  or  three  weeks,  the  sun  shone  so  brightly  and  the 
weather  was  so  mild  that  I  was  tempted  to  stroll  out,  on  so 
exceptional  an  occasion  for  Chicago,  into  the  suburbs  of  the 
great  city.  As  I  wandered  along  aimlessly,  watching  the 
gay  sleighing  parties,  I  saw  one  of  the  young  men  who 
roomed  in  the  same  house  coming  toward  me  from  the  op 
posite  direction. 

I  had  become  so  far  acquainted  with  him  as  to  have 
learned  that  his  name  was  Thompson,  and  had  overheard 
some  of  his  conversation  with  companions  who  called  at  his 
room.  What  I  had  heard  and  seen  did  not  impress  me 
favorably.  He  seemed  to  entertain  and  express  views  of 
an  economic  nature  which  were  not  in  accord  with  my  New 
England  notions,  and  I  was  disposed  to  avoid  him.  My 
first  impulse,  in  fact,  was  to  •  cross  this  street  and  con 
tinue  my  way  alone.  Before  I  could  do  this,  however, 
Thompson  hailed  me  with  a  cheerful,  courteous  and  fa 
miliar  "How  do  you  do?"  So  cordial,  good-natured  and 
attractive  seemed  his  manner,  devoid  of  all  affectation  or 
obtrusiveness,  that  I  stopped,  returned  his  salutation  and 
suddenly  became  conscious  of  a  desire  to  have  company  in 
my  walk.  So  I  asked  him  which  way  he  was  bound,  and  on 
his  replying  that  he  was  simply  taking  a  stroll  we  both 
turned  into  a  side  street,  and  continuing  the  walk  together 
entered  into  conversation. 

Thompson  was  really  a  remarkable  looking  man.  I 
marveled,  as  I  walked  along  with  him,  that  I  had  not  no 
ticed  this  in  the  two  weeks  that  we  had  roomed  in  the  same 
house,  but  probably  it  was  because  we  saw  each  other  only 
once  in  awhile  in  the  hallway  as  we  passed.  I  now  observed 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  9 

that  he  was  a  man  fully  six  feet. tall,  erect  and  powerfully 
built,  with  a  thoughtful,  clean-shaven  face,  strong  features 
and  great  earnest,  commanding  eyes.  Indeed  it  seemed  to 
me  that  I  never  had  seen  such  eyes  before.  One  felt  that 
they  belonged  to  a  master  and  that  this  man  was  a  natural 
leader  of  his  kind.  But  I  then  thought,  and  afterward 
learned,  that  he  was  not  only  a  leader  but  a  thinker.  Such 
a  man  could,  if  his  heart  was  enlisted  in  any  cause,  sacrifice 
not  merely  life,  but,  if  need  be,  reputation  for  the  goo<\ 
cause  in  which  he  believed. 

"I  have  thought,  Mr.  Braden,"  said  he,  as  we  sauntered 
along  together,  "that  you  mighj:  be  interested  in  a  little 
project  some  of  us  have  to  improve  the  condition  of  the 
masses  of  our  people.  Have  you  ever  studied  the  question 
of  co-operation?" 

"Xo,  sir,*'  said  I.  "I  have  never  studied  the  question  of 
co-operation.  I  presume  you  mean,  sir,  co-operation  among 
laborers.  But  while  I  have  not  studied  it  I  must  admit  that 
I  have  little  sympathy  with  the  theory.  It  is  not  practica 
ble  and  all  attempts  which  I  have  observed  have  failed." 

"Pardon  me,  Mr.  Braden,"  returned  my  companion.  "I 
feel  that  you  have  not  observed  the  noble  and  very  success 
ful  co-operative  enterprises  which  flourish  throughout 
Europe  and  to  some  extent  in  the  United  States  at  this 
time.  The  truth  is,  co-operation  has  proven  to  be  and  is 
strikingly  practicable.  In  the  United  Kingdom  of  .Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  $60,000,000.00  and  more  constitutes 
the  accumulated  capital  of  co-operative  societies  and  on  the 
continent  of  Europe  the  capital  involved  is  much  greater." 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  detail  our  discussion  of  this  sub 
ject.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  nearly  the  whole  day  was  spent 
in  each  other's  society.  Although  by  no  means  convinced 
at  the  close  of  the  day  that  Thompson  was  correct  in  his 
views,  I  found  myself  deeply  interested.  I  resolved  to 
study  the  subject  and  study  it  fairly. 

The  -project  which  my  new  acquaintance  outlined  was 
one  which  I  at  once  pronounced  visionary.  It  was,  he  said, 
the  design  of  certain  gentlemen,  some  of  whom  lived  in 


10  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

Chicago,  to  organize  what  they  called  the  Co-operative 
Commonwealth.  These  gentlemen  had  decided  to  induce 
laboring  men  and  other  persons  who  might  be  willing  to 
associate  themselves  in  the  work  to  form  co-operative  socie 
ties  and  to  colonize  them  in  some  one  state,  so  that,  in 
process  of  time,  they  would  outvote  the  devotees  of  the  old 
system.  When  this  desired  result  was  achieved,  they  made 
no  doubt  that  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth  would  be 
established  and  present  to  the  entire  world  an  example  of 
prosperity  which  would  rouse  an  unquenchable  spirit  of 
emulation.  I  could  not  forbear  to  sneer  at  the  plan  when  it 
was  explained,  but  when  I  saw  how  serious  Thompson  was. 
and  looking  into  his  face  felt  the  impression  of  his  strong 
character,  I  was  inclined  to  think  about  it  and  began,  invol 
untarily,  to  picture  to  myself  an  ideal  of  the  Co-operative 
Commonwealth. 

That  Jay  Thompson  and  I  were  together  much  of  the 
time  and  went  to  the  public  library,  at  his  suggestion,  to 
prove  some  of  his  statements,  the  correctness  of  which  1 
had  disputed.  I  was  obliged  to  admit,  when  we  parted, 
that  he  had  made  no  mistake,  and  this  satisfied  me  that  he 
was  an  authority  on  social  and  economic  questions. 

This  man  was,  at  the  time  when  our  meeting  and  conver 
sation  occurred,  about  thirty-five  years  of  age.  He  was  an 
Englishman  by  birth,  but  came  to  this  country  when  only 
three  years  of  age  with  his  parents,  and  settled  in  Red  Bluff, 
California,  where  his  mother  died  shortly  after.  When 
about  fifteen  he  removed  with  his  father  to  a  mining  town 
in  Nevada,  where  the  father  speedily  acquired  a  fortune  in 
mercantile  pursuits  and  in  some  fortunate  speculations  in 
mining  stocks.  The  son  was  impatient  of  restraint  as  a 
boy,  ran  away  from  home,  and  visited  nearly  all  the  mining 
camps  in  the  west,  followed  every  excitement,  became  a 
skillful  miner  and  acquired  an  immense  fund  of  useful  and 
curious  information. 

When  about  thirty  he  drifted  to  Chicago  and  worked  at  a 
variety  of  occupations,  being  a  master  of  many,  but  never 
rose  above  the  station  of  a  journeyman.  This  was  due  to 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  H 

the  fact  that  he  worked  only  that  he  might  obtain  money  to 
procure  books,  principally  on  questions  of  political  econ 
omy,  and  had  no  aspiration  to  follow  any  life  but  that  of  a 
student.  One  day  when  he  had  been  in  the  city  for  some 
years  he  saw  his  father,  now  an  old  man,  in  the  crowd  on 
State  street.  He  had  lost  all  trace  of  him  many  years  be 
fore,  and  once  in  his  wanderings  he  had  gone  to  the  Nevada 
mining  town  where  he  last  saw  him,  and  had  found  the 
town  deserted  except  by  two  old  men,  who  could  give  him 
no  information  as  to  where  his  father  had  gone.  They 
simply  knew  that  when  he  went  away  he  was  accounted  one 
of  the  wealthiest  men  in  the  camp.  Now,  meeting  him  on 
the  street  of  the  great  city,  he  observed  that  he  seemed  to 
have  about  him  every  indication  of  wealth  and  position. 
He  spoke  to  him,  calling  him  father,  and  was  recognized  by 
the  old  gentleman,  but  with  some  difficulty.  Events  fol 
lowing  were  sufficiently- interesting. 

Thompson  was  taken  to  his  father's  palatial  residence  on 
the  Wisconsin  lake  shore,  not  far  from  Chicago,  and  for  a 
while  lived  in  great  luxury.  But  this  was  ill  suited  to  his 
character  and  entirely  at  variance  with  the  habits  he  had 
formed  during  his  rough  western  life.  He  became  restless, 
and  made  numerous  trips  to  the  city,  where  he  spent  his 
time  in  the  libraries  and  among  his  books.  His  father,  who 
was  in  truth  very  wealthy,  usually  went  south  in  the  winter 
and  was  in  Florida  at  that  time.  On  the  day  when  I  met 
the  son  he  designed  to  take  the  evening  train  for  his  fath 
er's  southern  home,  intending  to  go  from  there  to  Arizona, 
where  the  old  gentleman  has  some  mining  interests,  but 
expecting  to  return  to  Chicago  in  March. 

When  he  parted  with  me  that  afternoon  he  urged  me  to 
pursue  certain  economic  lines  of  inquiry,  advising  me  whal 
books  to  read,  and  requesting  me  to  give  him  my  views  on 
co-operation  when  he  should  next  meet  me.  This  I  prom 
ised  to  do,  and  when  we  went  our  several  ways  I  found  mv- 
self  looking  at  the  world  with  new  eyes,  but  with  a  feeling 
that  I  was  getting  on  rather  too  familiar  terms  with  a  num 
ber  of  political  heresies. 


CHAPTER  III. 

A  MEETING  OF  THE  CO-OPERATIVE  COMMONWEALTH  — COM 
MITTEE  APPOINTED  TO   VISIT  IDAHO. 

After  the  introduction  of  the  subject  to  my  notice,  in  the 
manner  described  in  the  foregoing  pages,  I  spent  nearly  all 
of  my  time  for  at  least  a  month  in  the  study  of  such  books 
as  had  been  suggested  to  me,  treating  upon  the  condition  of 
labor  in  what  is  ordinarily  called  the  Christian  world.  I 
was  engaged  in  this  occupation  when  Thompson  returned 
from  his  trip  to  the  South  and  West.  To  say  that  I  had 
become  convinced  that  Thompson's  plan  of  co-operation 
and  the  establishment  of  a  Co-operative  Commonwealth 
was  practicable  would  not  be  true,  but  in  all  my  researches 
I  had  kept  his  plan  in  mind  and  confessed  that  I  was 
anxious  to  see  it  put  into  practice. 

I  was  not  convinced  by  any  means  that  it  would  succeed, 
but  I  wanted  to  observe  its  workings  and  believed  that  it 
could  do  no  evil.  Therefore  when  I  again  met  Thompson 
about  the  middle  of  March,  I  made  haste  to  assure  him 
that  I  was  prepared  to  approve  his  theories  and  desirous 
of  taking  some  part  in  the  experiment  which  I  hoped 
would  be  tried.  Upon  learning  this,  Thompson  informed 
me  that  he  was  already  a  member  of  the  Co-operative 
Commonwealth,  that  a  meeting  of  some  of  the  most 
influential  projectors  would  be  held  that  evening,  and 
that  he  would  like  to  have  me  present.  I  readily  accepted 
the  invitation  and  at  the  appointed  time  and  place  met  him 
that  evening,  and  together  we  went  to  the  meeting. 

I  was  quite  surprised  upon  entering  the  little  hall  whore 
hisfriends  had  assembled  to  find  myself  in  the  midst  of  well- 
dressed,  relined,  intellectual  and  apparently  practical  men. 
Thompson  introduced  me  to  a  number  of  these  as  a  friend 
who  was  interested  in  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth  and 


THE   CO-OPOLITAN.  13 

yho  would,  as  he  thought,  contribute  to  its  success. 

Although  1  felt  that  this  recommendation  of  me  was  pre 
mature,  yet  I  made  no  objection  to  it,  because  I  preferred  to 
accept  the  cordial  reception  which  his  introduction  seemed 
to  procure  for  me.  We  spent  about  half  an  hour  in  con 
versation  on  subjects  involving  the  co-operative  idea.  I 
had  little  to  say,  personally,  but  rather  confined  myself  to 
asking  questions  until  the  meeting  was  called  to  order. 
But  from  what  was  told  me  in  answer  to  my  questions  I  was 
deeply  impressed  by  the  apparent  sincerity  and  general 
benevolence  which  pervaded  the  assemblage. 

I  confess  that  I  rather  expected  to  find  a  somewhat  mot 
ley  crowd  of  men,  with  wild  staring  eyes,  shaggy,  unkempt 
heads  and  beards,  indulging  with  furious  gestures  and 
loud  voices  in  bitter  and  irrational  denunciation  of  the 
government  and  public  institutions  of  my  country. 

Instead  of  that  these  men  were  as  sleek,  as  mild,  as  quiet 
and  gentlemanly  as  an  equal  number  of  bank  presidents 
might  be.  Perhaps  more  so.  At  any  rate,  I  have  seen  bank 
presidents  and  directors  congregate  together  in  less  orderly 
conventions  and  have  heard  from  them  far  more  ex 
pressions  of  contempt  for  our  government  and  its  laws  than 
.these  men  uttered.  The  truth  was  that  the  gentlemen 
whom  I  now  had  the  honor  to  meet  were  more  fervently  pa 
triotic  than  any  similar  assemblage  I  had  ever  seen.  Men 
who  come  together  in  the  name  of  a  church,  a  party,  a  bank, 
a  business  enterprise  or  even  a  particular  charity,  are  not 
prone  to  hold  country  above  all  other  objects.  But  these 
men,  gathering  in  the  name  of  humanity,  held  their  coun 
try  to  be,  by  reason  of  its  location,  character,  condition  arid 
opportunities,  the  most  suitable  field  for  whatever  was  and 
is  best  in  the  human  race. 

When  the  meeting  opened  Thompson,  who  was  evidently 
held  in  great  esteem,  assumed  the  position  of  presiding 
officer.  He  began  with  a  brief  statement  of  its  purposes. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "this  meeting  is  called  for  a  pur 
pose  with  wh'ich  you  are  doubtless  all  familiar.  Le»t  there 
should  be  persons  among  you,  however,  who  are  not  fully 


14  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

informed,  I  deem  it  proper  to  make  a  brief  statement  at  this 
time.  The  present  business  and  financial  depression, 
spreading  as  it  does  throughout  most  of  Christen '.loin,  hns 
produced  a  feeling  of  unrest  among  those  classes  of  people 
who  feel  it  most.'  This  unrest  is  admitted  by  all  who  have 
eyes  with  which  to  observe,  and  minds  with  which  to  an 
alyze,  to  be  fraught  with  danger.  It  threatens  our  security, 
it  threatens  our  homes,  it  threatens  morals  and  religion,  it 
threatens  the  stability  of  our  institutions,  the  existence  of 
the  republic  and  the  durability  of  Christian  civilization. 

"It  is  the  protest  of  blind  Samson  against  the  exactions 
of  the  Philistines.  It  is  the  human  heart  overflowing  with 
bitterness  at  the  injustice  of  men  and  classes.  Ere  the  pil 
lars  of  the  temple  tremble  and  the  walls  of  the  temple  fall 
upon  us,  we  offer  a  remedy  and  ask  that  it  be  applied.  In 
justice  to  ourselves,  let  me  say,  that  we  propose  this  remedy 
experimentally.  We  do  not,  by  any  means,  know  whether 
the  human  system  is  capable  of  receiving  it,  but  we  are  ab 
solutely  certain  that  it  can  do  no  injury.  We  are  also 
equally  certain  that  the  attempt  to  apply  it  will  improve 
the  condition  of  those  who  actively  participate  in  our  plan. 
I  ought  also  to  say  that  if  our  remedy  is  accepted  and  ap 
plied  with  earnestness  and  intelligence  it  will  not  fail. 

"There  are  in  the  American  states  over  200,000  voters 
who  believe  that  the  true  theory  of  economics  is  that  the 
machinery  of  production  belongs  to  the  people  in  common. 
These  are  convinced  that  in  the  theory  so  expressed  lies  the 
remedy  for  those  economic  evils  which  produce  the  ex 
tremes  of  great  poverty  and  great  wealth.  They  are  also 
ready  to  participate  in  some  concerted  movement  which 
will  enable  them  to  establish  a  Co-operative  Common 
wealth  in  one  of  our  American  states.  Our  plan  is  to 
direct  all  those  \vho  believe  in  this  system  of  economics 
into  one  state,  enable  them  to  establish  themselves  there 
in  comparative  comfort  and  ultimately,  by  colonizing  a 
sufficient  number  of  them,  to  take  possession  ol  the  po 
litical  machinery  of  that  state,  adopt  a  new  constitution 
and  through  it  establish  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth, 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  15 

i 

"Wo  who  have  enlisted  in  this  enterprise  believe  that  our 
own  grand  republic,  with  its  system  of  interdependent  yet 
sovereign  slater,  offers  the  field  for  an  experiment  and  an 
example  which  may  enlighten  the  world.  The  example  of 
"Ttah,  although  disapproved  as  to  its  purpose,  presents  an 
instance  of  a  commonwealth  developing  under  the  influ 
ence  of  an  idea. 

"When  the  idea  is  pure  and  exalted,  and  at  the  same  time 
furnishes  hope  to  hungry  and  struggling  millions,  how- 
much  more  likely  is  it  to  develop  a  masterpiece  among 
states. 

"The  Co-operative  Commonwealth  is  already  organized, 
"It  even  now  numbers  3,000  votes,  representing  15,000 
people — men,  women  and  children — in  its  membership. 

"A  fund  of  $100,000  has  been  accumulated  and  is  now 
available  to  establish  co-operative  colonies  and  is  rapidly 
increasing.  No  colonies,  it  is  true,  have  been  established, 
for  the  reason  that  we  have  not  yet  selected  the  state  for 
that  purpose.  This  selection  is  the  special  purpose  of  our 
meeting  to-night. 

"Let  me  express  to  you,  my  friends,  the  belief  that  we  arc 
now  meeting  in  the  most  important  convention  which  we 
have  ever  held,  because  our  success  depends  undeniably 
upon  the  proper  location  of  our  Co-operative  Common 
wealth.  Strong  arguments  can  be  produced  in  favor  of  the 
South  and  the  West,  and  I  have  heard  more  favorable  men 
tion  of  Tennessee  than  of  any  of  the  states.  I  hope,  gentle 
men,  that  you  will  discuss  this  matter  fully  and  deliberately 
as  becomes  the  dignity  and  high  purpose  of  men  who,  per 
haps,  are  about  to  give  to  the  world  its  most  enduring  and 
most  beneficent  commonwealth." 

So  the  meeting  was  declared  open  for  discussion.  The 
gentlemen  who  participated  were  not  partisans  of  any  par 
ticular  section  or  state  and  were  evidently  disposed  to  be 
deliberate  and  cautious  in  their  selection.  Most  of  them 
presented  arguments  in  favor  of  Tennessee.  Some  were  in 
favor  of  the  state  of  Washington.  As  I  listened  to  the  dis 
cussion  I  was  conscious  of  a  deep  feeling  of  interest  devel- 


16 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 


oping  within  me.  It  seemed  to  me  that  intuitively  I  com 
prehended  the  motives  and  purposes  of  these  men  and  that 
I  had  a  stronger  grasp  upon  the  details  of  their  design  than 
they.  A  great  inspiration  seized  upon  me  which  seemed  to 
swing  my  mind  over  every  detail  and  to  light  up  every  fea 
ture  of  this  subject.  When  all  who  intended  appeared  to 
have  spoken,  the  chairman  suggested  that  Mr..  Braden 
might,  perhaps,  present  some  views  which  would  be  worthy 
of  consideration.  I  could  not  forbear  compliance  and  spoke 
as  follows: 

"Gentlemen — I  feel  a  deep  and  profound  sympathy  for 
the  objects  of  this  meeting.  When  I  say  this  I  do  not  want 
to  be  understood  as  expressing  favor  for  any  plan  whereby 
the  thoughtful,  conservative  statesmanship  of  modern  so 
ciety  is  to  be  set  aside,  and  experimental  statesmanship  is  to 
be  substituted  for  it.  I  am  convinced  that  the  social  system 
which  Christendom  accepts  to-day  is  the  best  which  hu 
manity  has  ever  employed,  and  that  it  would  be  the  worst  of 
crimes  to  destroy  it  without  furnishing  some  practical 
model  for  a  new  and  better  one. 

"The  United  States  presents  a  plan  which  is  sufficiently 
elastic,  an  area  sufficiently  extensive,  and  opportunities 
sufficiently  varied  and  abundant,  to, make  it  proper  that  one 
state  should  be  devoted  to  the  development  of  the  co-opera 
tive  system.  I,  for  one,  am  fully  convinced  that  a  state 
should  be  selected  in  which  the  obstacles  to  your  efforts  will 
be  but  few  and  slight.  For  instance,  you  ought  not  to  con 
centrate  your  efforts  on  Tennessee  if  there  is  another  area, 
less  populous,  less  prejudiced  and  less  attached  to  the  pres 
ent  system. 

"The  vote  of  Tennesee  is  321,190.  Its  population  ap 
proaches  2,000,000.  You  must,  in  order  to  gain  control  of 
Tennessee,  increase  its  population  by  nearly  2,000,000  co- 
operators  casting  a  vote  of  nearly  300,000.  This  assumes 
that  a  portion  of  the  present  population  is  not  opposed  to 
the  Co-operative  Commonwealth.  It  is  plain  to  me  that  it 
will  take  you  a  generation  to  accomplish  your  purpose. 

"The  same  objections  apply  in  a  less  degree  to  Washing- 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  17 

ton.  The  population  of  that  state  is  450,000  and  its  vote 
93,435.  To  direct  our  colonies  to  a  territory  not  yet  ad 
mitted  into  the  Union,  like  Arizona,  New  Mexico  and  Okla 
homa,  would  subject  them  to  repressive  congressional  leg 
islation  from  which  in  a  state  they  would  be  free.  As  for 
Wyoming,  with  a  population  of  60,000  and  a  vote  of 
21,000,  it  does  not  present  a  field  for  our  operations  as  suit 
able  as  some  others. 

"For  my  part  I  am  greatly  prepossessed  in  favor  of  Idaho. 
It  has  an  area  of  about  86,000  square  miles,  a  population  of 
about  90,000  and  a  vote  of  about  30,000.  Its  vote  is  now 
increased  by,  probably,  15,000  on  account  of  the  extension 
of  the  right  of  suffrage  of  women.  This  will  be  an  advan 
tage  to  your  colonists,  because  the  proportion  of  married 
men  among  you  will  be  greater  than  that  of  the  shifting 
population  of  the  mining  camps.  It  is  evident  that  you  will 
control  the  state  as  soon  as  you  have  50,000  men  and  women 
there.  Already  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth  numbers 
3,000  men  and  this  means  6,000  votes.  But  I  make  no 
doubt  that  100,000  men,  to  say  nothing  of  their  wives,  are 
ready  to  go  to  Idaho  with  your  colonies  if  you  choose  that 
location. 

"But  you  ask,  what  manner  of  place  is  Idaho?  I  reply, 
that  in  my  journeyings  throughout  my  beloved  country  I 
have  found  its  superior  nowhere  in  what  goes  to  produce  a 
great  commonwealth.  Its  name  signifies  'Light  on  the 
Mountains.'  It  has  valleys  of  great  breadth  and  fertility, 
mountains  covered  with  extensive  forests,  lakes  of  enchant 
ing  beauty,  navigable  rivers,  swift  streams,  unlimited  water 
power,  inexhaustible  mineral  resources. 

"It  has  12,000,000  acres  of  land  which  can  be  reclaimed 
by  irrigation  and  made  lavishly  productive,  and  there  is 
plenty  of  water  available  for  the  purpose.  It  has  seven 
million  acres  of  forest  lands.  You,  perhaps,  have  no  very 
great  acquaintance  with  Idaho.  This,  in  my  opinion, 
should  induce  you  to  select  a  committee  to  visit  the  state 
incognito  to  examine  and  report  on  its  resources.  You  will 
find  that  it  is  capable  of  supporting  a  population  of  10,000,- 


18  THE   CO-OPOLITAN. 

000  people.  These  can  engage  in  manufacture,  farming, 
grazing,  fruit  culture,  mining,  wool  growing  and  all  the 
pursuits  followed  by  the  people^  of  Pennsylvania  or  New 
England.  The  climate  is  not  so  warm  as  that  of  Tennessee, 
but  in  my  judgment  that  is  an  advantage.  It  is  much  warm 
er  than  in  any  northern  state  east  of  the  Eockies  and  north 
of  the  Ohio  river.  It  is  dry  and  healthful. 

"Gentlemen,  I  shall  not  enter  into  a  further  description 
of  Idaho,  but  beg  you  to  make  an  investigation.  Remember 
that  in  states  whose  opportunities  are  famous  those  oppor 
tunities  have  been  occupied.  If  you  can  find  a  state  which 
is  but  little  known  you  will  find  its  opportunities  open  for 
you  to  take  possession  of  and  control.  Idaho-  is  such  a 
state." 

My  remarks  produced  a  deep  impression.  I  was  followed 
by  several  gentlemen  who  heartily  approved  the  suggestion 
to  appoint  a  committee  of  investigation  and  to  send  the 
committee  to  Idaho,  to  report  after  a  month's  absence.  A 
motion  to  that  effect  was  carried  providing  that  the  chair 
man  and  two  others,  to  be  appointed  by  him,  should  consti 
tute  that  committee.  The  chairman  did  me  the  honor  to 
appoint  me,  and  also  appointed  Henry  B.  Henderson,  a  gen 
tleman  of  great  wealth,  a  reformer  of  thirty  years'  stand 
ing,  and  one  of  the  truest  and  best  men  who  ever  graced  the 
planet  with  an  unselfish  life.  The  assembly  then  adjourned 
to  meet  again  a  month  after,  when  the  committee  was  to 
make  its  report. 


CHAPTEE  IV. 

THE  COMMISSION  REPORTS  AND  IDAHO  IS  SELECTED  —  COL 
ONY  NUMBER  ONE  PREPARES  TO  ENTER  THE  LAND  OF 
ITS  CHOICE— THE  JOURNEY  TO  HUNTINGTON,  OREGON, 
AND  INCIDENTS  AT  THAT  PLACE- ON  TO  DEER  VALLEY. 

The  commission  to  investigate  the  resources  of  Idaho 
performed  their  labors  conscientiously  and  after  an  absence 
of  about  a  month  made  such  a  report  as  determined  our 
people  to  choose  Idaho  for  the  home  of  the  society.  This 
important  detail  being  settled,  it  was  decided  to  send  Col 
ony  Number  One  into  the  field  as  speedily  as  possible.  The 
commission  had  recommended  a  valley  through  which  ran 
a  small  stream  into  Snake  river  as  a  suitable  location.  It 
was  a  beautiful  valley,  about  twenty-five  miles  in  length 
and  from  a  quarter  of  one  to  five  miles  wide.  The  stream 
flowing  from  the  high  mountains  near  its  source  had  never 
been  known  to  fail,  and  poured  its  torrents  with  ceaseless 
power  into  the  flood  at  its  mouth. 

The  mountain  rose  only  a  short  distance  from  its  banks 
for  ten  miles  along  its  course,  but  when  it  emerged  from  the 
foot  hills  the  broad  and  fertile  acres  spread  away  on  both 
sides  until  they  reached  the  top  of  rich  divides.  In  the 
mountains  along  its  border  grew  great  forests  of  yellow  pine 
and  gold  and  silver  abounded.  Gold  had  also  been  mined 
in  placers  all  along  the  valley,  and  was  still  found  in  greater 
or  less  quantity.  The  soil  was  as  rich  as  that  of  the  Nile, 
and  everywhere  in  the  wild  state  the  grasses  grew  luxuriant 
and  nutritious. 

The  climate,  we  learned,  was  all  that  could  be  desired. 
Surrounded  by  high  mountains  and  plateaus  and  nestling 
in  the  depths  of  an  immense  depression,  extreme  climatic 
changes  were  unknown.  The  winters  were  as  mild  as  those 
of  Southern  Ohio  and  the  Chinook  winds  from  the  warm 


20  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

Pacific  currents  breathed  over  this  region,  now  and  then, 
the  balmy  sympathy  of  southern  climes. 

Colony  Number  One  was  fully  organized  with  John 
Thompson  as  President,  Henderson  as  Treasurer  and  my 
self  as  Secretary.  The  number  of  our  members  was  then 
three  hundred.  We  were  not  limited  by  any  law  or  rule  as 
to  our  membership,  but  had  decided  to  accept  no  more  ap 
plications  until  we  were  fully  established  in  our  western 
home.  It  was  arranged  that  fifty  men  should  go  to  the  se 
lected  location  and  make  the  necessary  preparations  for  the 
colony.  Thompson,  Henderson  and  myself  were  included. 
The  other  forty-seven  were  made  up  of  mechanics,  farmers 
and  lumbermen. 

There  were  six  farmers,  six  lumber  and  sawmill  men, 
six  carpenters,  three  masons,  three  stonecutters,  three  ex 
pert  sheep  men,  three  expert  cattle  men,  three  merchants, 
one  phyLxcian,  one  blacksmith,  one  horseshoer,  and  eleven 
who,  although  men  of  intelligence  and  able  to  adapt  them 
selves  to  all  kinds  of  work,  were  not  trained  to  any  special 
calling.  These  fifty  paid  into  the  colony  treasury  one  hun 
dred  dollars  each;  fifty  others,  who  were  expected  to  follow 
us  in  three  months,  paid  in  twenty-five  dollars;  fifty  more 
paid  fifteen  dollars;  fifty  others  paid  ten  dollars,  and  the 
remainder  five.  All  these  were  to  continue  payments  at 
the  same  race  monthly  until  the  entrance  fee  of  one  hun 
dred  dollars  was  paid,  when  the  member  would  become  en 
titled  to  enter  the  colony  as  an  active  colonist.  We  found 
ourselves  possessed,  then,  on  the  day  of  our  departure,  of 
eight  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  paid  in  by  members, 
and  the  Brotherhood  throughout  the  United  States  loaned 
us  ten  thousand  dollars  from  its  accumulated  fund,  to  be 
repaid  in  three  years. 

Our  faith  and  credit,  as  honest  men,  were  the  only  secur 
ity  the  Brotherhood  required.  Each  man  .paid  his  own  fare 
and  traveling  expenses  until  we  reached  Huntington,  in 
Eastern  Oregon.  From  that  point  until  we  arrived  at  our 
destination  all  expenses  were  to  be  borne  in  common  and 
defrayed  from  the  common  fund. 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  21 

It  was  agreed  that  until  the  colony  was  entirely  estab 
lished,  and  its  business  had  reached  a  tolerably  settled  con 
dition,  John  Thompson  should  have  larger  powers  than  the 
presidential  office  conferred  upon  him.  This  was  done  be 
cause  it  was  thought  the  exigencies  and  uncertainties  of 
the  situation  demanded  his  varied  experience  and  the  exer 
cise  of  his  quick  judgment  and  large  executive  force.  AVc 
regarded  him  as  a  sort  of  military  chief,  although  we  were 
as  little  like  a  military  band  as  it  would  be  possible  to  con 
ceive.  He  naturally  assumed  the  leadership  and  we  natur 
ally  submitted  to  it.  The  better  to  direct  our  movements 
he  divided  us  into  squads  of  six,  putting  the  carpenters  into 
a  squad  numbered  one,  and  directing  them  to  choose  a  fore 
man  •  the  masons  and  stonecutters  together  numbered  two; 
the  sheep  and  cattle  men  numbered  three;  the  lumber  and 
sawmill  men  numbered  four;  the  merchants,  blacksmith, 
horseshoer  and  one  commoner  numbered  five;  the  farmers 
numbered  six;  six  commoners  numbered  seven;  Henderson, 
myself  and  four  commoners,  all  of  the  latter  being  edu 
cated  men,  one  an  ex-editor,  one  an  ex-clergyman  and  one 
an  assayer  and  chemist  and  another  a  surveyor  and  ex-real 
estate  man,  numbered  eight.  The  physician  was  not  in 
cluded  in  any  squad  but  was,  as  we  facetiously  declared, 
to  constitute  a  squad  by  himself. 

May  1st,  1897,  we  took  our  departure  from  Chicago  for 
our  future  home,  and  proceeding  over  the  Union  Pacific 
arrived  at  Huntington  in  due  time.  Disembarking  here, 
we  went  into  camp  on  the  outskirts  of  the  little  town  and 
commenced  the  purchase  of  our  necessary  outfit. 

Before  leaving  Chicago  we  had  purchased  and  caused  to 
be  shipped  to  us  a  stock  of  groceries,  hardware,  a  limited 
quantity  of  dry  goods,  drugs,  paints,  a  number  of  ploughs, 
harrows  and  farm  and  mining  tools  and  tools  for  our 
mechanics,  a  portable  sawmill  and  eight  farm  wagons  at 
a  cost  of  nine  thousand  dollars  in  all.  These  were  all  at 
Huntington  when  we  arrived.  But  we  were  without  live 
stock,  horses  or  seed.  Thompson,  who  had  been  conceded 
the  title  of  captain,  assigned  to  each  squad  its  duty. 


22  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

Number  One  received  orders  to  take  charge  of  one  wagon 
and  load  the  same  with  such  tools  as  carpenters  required, 
and  if  any  room  was  left  over  to  report  to  him.  Number 
Two  assumed  charge  of  a  second  wagon  with  similar  in 
structions.  Number  Three  did  tiie  same  with  the  third 
wagon,  but  was  also  directed  to  purchase,  in  the  sur 
rounding  country,  ten  milch  cows,  a  herd  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  cattle  and  one  thousand  sheep.  Number  Four 
was  instructed  to  take  one  wagon  and  in  addition  to  pro 
vide  for  the  transportation  of  the  portable  sawmill.  Num 
bers  Five,  Six,  Seven  and  Eight  were  each  assigned  to  a 
wagon,  and  Thompson,  with  the  aid  of  two  members  of 
Number  Six,  who  were  excellent  horsemen,  undertook  the 
purchase  of  the  horses. 

We  sojourned  in  the  neighborhood  of  Huntington  a 
week.  At  the  end  of  that  time  our  company  was  prepared 
to  move.  We  had  purchased  a  quantity  of  seed  for  two 
hundred  dollars,  sixteen  draft  horses  at  a  cost  of  eight 
hundred  dollars,  and  forty-two,  saddle  horses  at  a  cost  of 
eight  hundred  and  forty  dollars.  We  had  acquired  our 
milch  cows  for  two  hundred  dollars,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  cattle  for  two  thousand  dollars  and  a  nock  of  sheep 
numbering  one  thousand  for  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  and 
there  remained  four  thousand  dollars  in  our  treasury. 

The  road  from  Huntington  was  quite  familiar  to  "The 
Captain"  and  myself.  Both  of  us,  but  at  different  periods, 
had  spent  considerable  time  in  the  vicinity  of  Huntington 
and  had  explored  along  Snake  river  and  its  tributaries  for 
gold.  We  were  able,  therefore,  to  point  out  a  suitable  road 
and  as  we  proceeded  upon  our  journey  we  encountered  no 
obstacles  except  when  we  found  it  necessary  to  cross  Snake 
river. 

This  obstacle  only  served  to  delay  us  a  short  time,  there 
being  at  that  point  a  ferry  which  we  employed  to  take  us 
across.  Once  in  Idaho  our  people  seemed  to  acquire  new 
life.  Everything  was  full  of  interest.  We  made  no  effort 
to  march  in  any  regular  system  except  that  the  squad 
wagons  followed  each  pther  in  numerical  order,  the  bull 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  23 

train,  which  had  been  hired  to  transport  the  portable  saw 
mill,  following  somewhat  slowly  far  in  the  rear.  The 
men  in  charge  of  the  machinery  were  residents  of  Hunting- 
ton  and  well  acquainted  with  the  road  to  our  destination, 
which  was  then  known  as  Deer  Valley. 

As  we  moved  along  we  found  the  country  settled,  but 
somewhat  sparsely.  Here  and  there  a  rancher  came  out 
to  salute  us  and,  learning  of  our  intention  to  settle  in 
Idaho,  bade  us  a  hearty  welcome.  Sometimes  we  fell  in 
with  cowboys  in  charge  of  herds  of  cattle,  and  passed 
through  several  camps  of  miners  who  worked  the  placers 
along  Snake  river.  Several  of  these  latter  were  composed 
of  Chinese  and  their  workings  were  referred  to  by  the  white 
miners  in  other  camps  as  "Chinese  Diggings."  We  ob 
served  that  everywhere  the  soil  was  rich  but  lacking  in 
moisture  except  where  irrigation  was  employed.  The 
grasses,  although  the  season  was  early,  were  luxuriant  and 
the  cattle,  which  had  wintered  without  shelter,  were  in 
remarkably  good  condition. 

Several  of  the  large  ranches  were  amqng  the  most  beau 
tiful  I  had  ever  seen.  One  of  these,  comprising  about  five 
hundred  acres,  was  located  where  a  swift  stream,  called 
Conner  creek,  flowed  into  Snake  river.  This  stream  had 
been  tapped  at  a  high  elevation,  and  the  waters  diverted, 
by  means  of  a  flume,  to  the  rich  alluvial  lands  below. 
There  a  system  of  small  ditches  distributed  the  waters 
among  orchards  of  peaches,  apples,  pears,  plums,  necta 
rines  and  apricots  and  among  vineyards  of  grapes  and  beds 
of  strawberries.  The  rancher  who  had  charge  of  this 
wonderful  little  domain,  a  portly  old  man,  full  of  informa 
tion,  affable  and  communicative,  assured  me  that  he  had 
traveled  the  world  over  but  had  never  beheld  a  fairer  spot 
than  this.  "But,"  said  he, '  "Idaho  is  filled  with  such 
places." 

I  asked  him  about  the  markets  and  he  candidly  informed 
me  that  he  had  been  unable  to  garner  and  ship  his  fruits, 
lacking  funds  for  that  purpose,  but  that  he  had  sold  his 


24  THE   CO-OPOLITAN. 

vegetables  at  a  good  profit  in  the  neighboring  mining 
camps.  He  also  showed  us  a  large  quantity  of  dried  fruit 
which  his  son  had  cut  and  prepared  and  which  there  was 
a  market  for  in  the  same  camps. 

"But,"  he  said,  "I  have  not  found  the  South  to  be  as 
profitable  for  farming  as  this  locality,  because  if  their  mar 
ket  is  more  extensive  it  is  also  far  cheaper.  At  the  outset 
the  advantage  is  with  us.  Our  grain,  hay,  hogs  and  vege 
tables  are  all  readily  disposed  of  and  command  a  good 
price  among  the  gold  mines." 

Such  incidents,  and  the  sublime  scenery  which  every 
where  presented  itself  to  our  delighted  vision,  varied  the 
monotony  of  our  journey  so  that  the  three  days  spent  on 
the  waj  after  crossing  Snake  river  seemed  to  pass  like  a 
dream.  We  arrived  at  Deer  Valley  without  any.  accident  of 
a  serious  nature,  full  of  hope,  in  the  best  of  health  and 
eager  to  begin  the  work  of  laying,  as  it  were,  the  corner 
stone  of  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth. 


CHAPTER  V. 

DEER    VALLEY    -THE     FOUNDING    AND    NAMING    OF    CO- 
OPOLIS-THOMPSON'S  AND   EDMUNDS'  VIEWS. 

It  was  about  noon  on  the  20th  day  of  May,  1897,  that  our 
company  entered  Deer  Valley.  We  found  a  very  good  road 
leading  up  into  the  mountains  along  the  south  bank  of 
the  stream  and  followed  that  without  difficulty.  The 
captain,  taking  six  of  our  horsemen,  including  myself, 
went  ahead  of  the  rest  of  the  company,  who  followed  after 
more  slowly  with  the  wagons  and  live  stock.  The  saw 
mill  machinery  was  nearly  a  day's  journey  behind  them. 

The  captain's  purpose  was  to  select  a  suitable  site  for  a 
camp  which  would  in  all  probability  be  more  permanent 
than  we  had  yet  made.  He  was  quite  familiar  with  Deer 
Valley,  as  I  have  already  stated,  and  had  in  mind  a 
location  which  on  other  occasions  he  had  marked  as  an 
excellent  place  in  which  to  build  a  'city.  In  a  short  time 
we  arrived  at  this  place  and  commenced  an  examination 
of  the  surroundings.  We  all  readily  agreed  that  the  cap 
tain's  judgment  was  good  and,  after  viewing  the  land  from 
many  points,  unanimously  decided  to  recommend  it  to 
our  company  as  a  proper  place  to  establish  our  camp. 

We  were  about  four  miles  from  Snake  river.  The  valley 
at  this  point  was  somewhat  over  five  miles  wide,  walled  in 
by  table  lands  on  either  side.  These  table  lands  were 
high  elevations  with  level  summits  covering  many  square 
miles  of  fertile  but  dry  lands.  They  sloped  from  the 
summits  through  a  succession  of  three  shelves,  each  quite 
level,  down  toward  the  valley,  and  thence  the  valley  in 
clined  gently  toward  the  river  bed.  The  stream  itself 
flowed  at  the  bottom  of  a  deep  gully  and  its  banks  were 
prettily  fringed  with  box  elder  trees.  The  table  lands, 


26  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

their  sloping  sides,  the  shelves  and  the  broad  area  of  the 
valley  down  to  the  fringe  of  box  elder  trees,  presented 
at  this  season  of  the  year  a  beautiful  sight. 

All  was  dressed  in  the  verdure  of  the  rich  grasses  which 
make  the  highlands  and  lowlands  of  Idaho  famous  as 
the  grazing  grounds  of  those  great  herds  of  cattle  which 
abundantly  assist  in  feeding  the  world.  There  were  a 
few  trees  in  places  on  the  slopes  of  the  highlands.,  and  a 
hillock  which  was  proposed  as  the  location  of  our  camp- 
contained  quite  a  grove.  But  except  for  these,  and  the 
fringe  of  box  elders  along  the  river  bank,  the  entire  area 
was  quite  open.  The  stream  at  this  time  came  tumbling 
down  the  valley  at  a  furious  rate,  the  incline  being  quite 
pronounced.  Looking  up  the  valley  we  saw  the  giant 
mountains  on  whose  majestic  tops  the  snow  remained 
unmelted.  and  whose  lower  sides  were  black  with  the 
foliage  ot  the  forest  of  yellow  pine. 

We  found  here  a  rancher  who  claimed  to  be  the  owner 
of  some  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land  which  he 
had  attempted  to  reclaim  by  means  of  a  rather  crude 
irrigating  ditch  which  conducted  the  water  of  the  stream 
from  a  point  above  to  a  portion  of  his  ground.  He  claimed 
also  to  have  washed  some  gold  from  the  sand  taken  from 
the  bed  of  the  creek.  The  man  had  lived  in  the  valley  for 
ten  years,  but  was  evidently  neither  a  man  of  enterprise 
nor  much  intelligence.  He  had  once  possessed  a  consid 
erable  herd,  but  had  lost  it  at  the  gaming  table  in  some 
of  the  camps,  and  was  poor  and  anxious  to  get  away  into 
the  "diggings,,  up  in  the  mountains.  He  was  able  to  give 
some  information  of  value  to  us,  and  offered  to  sell  us  the 
ranch  and  about  a  hundred  acres  of  land  which  he  held 
under  the  placer  mining  laws  of  the  United  States,  for 
two  dollars  an  acre. 

We  were  occupied  in  making  these  observations  when, 
about  two  hours  after  our  arrival,  the  wagons  and  their 
escort  reached  a  point  "on  the  road  near  the  house  (it  was 
scarcely  more  than  a  hut)  of  the  old  rancher.  The  cap 
tain  and  myself  immediately  rode  over  and  directions  were 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  27 

given  to  proceed  to  the  hillock,  where  the  grove  of  young 
trees  already  mentioned  offered  an  inviting  shelter,  and  go 
into  camp.  Accordingly  the  entire  company  went  thither, 
the  teams  were  unharnessed,  the  horses  were  picketed, 
some  tents  were  pitched  and  the  men  were  soon  to  be  seen 
engaged  in  conversation  in  little  groups,  some  standing  on 
elevations  which  offered  a  commanding  view,  others  mov 
ing  to  various  parts  of  the  valley,  and  others  still,  lying 
down  and  making  observations  while  they  rested.  The 
farmers  were  particularly  industrious,  looking  over  old 
Racket's  ranch. 

As  the  afternoon  of  this  memorable  first  day  wore  to  its 
close  the  men  all  returned  to  camp,  where  those  to  whom 
the  duty  of  preparing  meals  had  been  assigned  had  pre 
pared  a  feast  somewhat  more  elaborate  than  usual,  and 
one  of  them  reminded  us  that  this  was  the  first  feast  on 
the  site  of  our  new  town  and  that  the  anniversary  of  this 
day  would  hereafter  be  a  feast  day  for  years  to  come.  The 
prophecy  was  hailed  with  approval  and  the  evening  was 
given  up  to  feasting  and  speaking,  just  as  has  been  cus 
tomary  on  this  anniversary  ever  since. 

After  the  meal  was  finished  we  gathered  together  under 
one  of  the  largest  trees  in  the  grove  and  called  upon  those 
who  were  known  to  be  speakers  to  address  us.  Among 
others  the  company  called  on  me  and  I  proposed  that,  as 
we  were  to  have  a  city,  whether  it  be  established  on  the 
spot  or  in  some  other  place,  and  as  our  city  must  have  a 
name,  that  we  proceed  to  give  it  a  name  forthwith.  To 
'this  one  of  the  company,  Albert  Ortz,  a  German,  objected, 
for  the  reason  that  our  sheep  and  cattle  men,  as  well  as  four 
of  our  commoners,  being  in  charge  of  the  herds  which  had 
not  yet  arrived,  ought  to  be  allowed  to  take  part.  To  this 
I  replied  that  our  action  would  not  be  binding,  if  we 
selected  a  name,  and  we  could  regard  the  selection  now  as 
merely  informal.  This  was  satisfactory  and  Ortz  withdrew 
his  objection.  I  then  called  for  names  to  be  voted  on. 
Three  only  were  submitted.  Alpha,  because  it  was  the  first 
of  its  kind;  Co-opolis,  the  city  of  co-operators,  and  Omega, 


28  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

which  Dr.  Finder  proposed,  because,  he  said  rather  face 
tiously,  our  co-operative  city  was  about  the  last  hope  which 
labor  had  left  for  justice  in  this  world.  The  vote  was  then 
taken  and  resulted  in  a  large  majority  for  Co-opolis.  It 
is  as  well  to  say  here  that  afterward  our  absent  members 
voted  unanimously  to  approve  -this  name,  and  the  city  was 
so  christened. 

While  this  was  going  on  the  captain  had  said  nothing 
and,  I  observed,  did  not  even  vote.  He  had  been  sitting 
somewhat'apart  from  the  rest  of  the  company  with  a  half- 
pleased  but  yet  serious  look  upon  his  face.  I  had  come  to 
understand  him  very  well,  and  knew  that  he  felt  grave 
apprehensions  for  the  success  of  this  movement,  and  now  I 
made  no  doubt  that  he  was  feeling  the  responsibility  which 
rested  upon  each  member  of  the  colony. 

"Brothers/'  said  I,  "I  notice  that  our  captain  is  serious 
when  he  r1iould  be  gay.  I,  for  one,  vote  that  the  captain 
give  an  account  of  himself." 

Everybody  called  for  the  captain.     . 

"My  brothers,"  said  he,  in  response,  "I  regret  that  you 
-have  called  upon  me  to  speak,  because  the  thoughts  which 
press  for  expression  are  not  altogether  in  harmony  with 
the  gayety  of  our  present  festivities.  I  am  sure  that  none 
rejoices  more  than  I  do  for  the  safe  arrival  of  our  party  in 
this  beautiful  valley.  But  my  mind  is  not  with  to-day  nor 
yesterday,  but  dwells  with  the  future.  The  project  which 
has  brought  us  here  is,  in  the  light  of  all  history,  an  ex 
ceedingly  ambitious  one.  Failure,  it  is  true,  cannot  result 
injuriously,  but  success  will  be  a  beacon  light  of  hope  to 
those  many  millions  of  men  and  women  who  are  denied 
access  to  nature's  countless  bounties. 

"You,  my  brothers,  have  wives  and  children  who  will 
follow  you  ere  long  into  this  fair  country.  For  you,  as 
individuals,  the  world  is  opening  out  its  avenues  of  com 
fort,  but  upon  each  of  us  here  rests  a  responsibility  such  as 
few  men  have  ever  assumed.  We  are  here  not  merely  to 
benefit  ourselves,  but  to  benefit,  by  the  force  of  example, 
the  waiting  and  watching  world. 


THE   CO-OPOLITAN.  29 

"Co-operative  enterprises  have  been  successful  in  many 
commercial  and  mechanical  pursuits.  As  a  rule  such  en 
terprises  have  failed  so  far  as  land  and  its  cultivation  are 
concerned.  But  there  is  no  apparent  reason  why  they 
should  be  less  successful  than  are  the  enterprises  of  com 
merce  and  manufacture.  Our  purpose  is  to  combine  all 
laborious  or  productive  occupations.  Behold,  my  broth 
ers,  this  beautiful  valley!  God  has  secreted  in  almost  every 
inch  of  its  soil  the  gift  of  productivity.  Yonder  the  moun 
tains  tower  above  us.  God  has  made  the  forest  to  yield  fuel 
and  lumber  for  our  use.  High  up  on  the  white-capped 
summits  and  deep  down  in  the  cool  cisterns  of  nature  are 
the  sources  of  these  waters  which  flow  in  the  rushing  tor 
rent,  and  which  we  may  direct  thither  to  moisten  this  soil. 
On  the  table  lands  which  rise  north  and. south  of  us  our 
herds  and  flocks  shall  graze. 

"You  can  see,  my  brothers,  that  if  we  fail  in  our  enter 
prise  the  fault  will  be  in  us  and  not  in  nature.  The  duty 
which  lies  before  us  is  to  work  in  harmony.  We  must 
encourage  competition  in  all  lines  of  mental,  physical  and 
spiritual  progress.  But  we  must  rid  ourselves  of  competi 
tion  in  the  simple  acquisition  of  propert}^.  We  must  en 
courage  individualism  in  all  that  makes  men  practical,  self- 
reliant  and  manly.  We  must  destroy  it  in  all  that  makes 
men  grasping  and  unsympathetic. 

"My  brothers,  the  great  world  beyond  deems  that  man 
greatest  who  acquires  the  greatest  fortune  or  wields  the 
greatest  power,  but  I  say  to  you  that  man  is  greatest  who 
induces  the  greatest  number  of  men  and  women  to  do 
right.  Such  is  the  manhood  we  must  honor,  and  upon  the 
brow  of  such  we  shall  place  the  laurel  wreath  of  victory. 
If  we  work  to  such  a  purpose  we  shall  succeed. 

"My  brothers,  the  most  difficult  part  of  our  project 
lies  in  our  foundation  work.  W^e  will  meet  obstacles. 
Some  of  our  number  may,  perhaps,  be  of  opinion  that 
the  first  year  or  two  of  our  struggle  here  should  be  free 
from  difficulty  because  our  ideal  is  high.  If  so  it  were  bet 
ter  that  those  immediately  return  to  their  eastern  homes, 


30  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

because  there  is  nothing  for  us,  the  pioneers  of  the  Co 
operative  Commonwealth,  but  arduous  labor.  Your  wives 
and  children  look  forward  to  a  time  when  they  may  come 
hither  to  homes  which  you  have  established  where  the  old 
system  which  has  forced  you  into  this  unsettled  country 
cannot  affect  them.  What  will  you  do?  Will  you  subju 
gate  self,  defer  to  one  another's  opinions,  and  work  always 
together,  and  so  make  your  enterprise  succeed?  I  believe 
you  will. 

"My  brothers,  this  work  is  in  your  hands.  I  have  been 
your  leader  thus  far,  but  I  now  surrender  the  leadership  and 
insist  that  the  will  of  the  majority  be  your  guide  hereafter." 

When  Thompson  ceased  to  speak  some  seconds  elapsed 
before  any  one  ventured  to  break  silence.  His  words  were 
fully  appreciated  and  it  was  evident  that  all  comprehended 
the  magnitude 'of  the  task  whic  hwas  before  them.  Mr. 
Edmund.,,  ex-clergyman,  voiced  the  general  sentiment 
of  all. 

"You  are  not  alone,  Brother  Thompson,"  said  he,  "in 
your  apprehensions.  Most  of  us  entertain  the  same  doubts 
as  to  the  future  which  you  have  expressed.  But  it  is  bet 
ter  it  should  be  so  than  that  we  should,  in  such  an  enter 
prise,  be  carried  away  by  enthusiasm.  When  soldiers  ap 
proach  the  dangers  of  war,  where  death  and  glory  mingle, 
their  captain  seeks  to  inspire  them  with  a  courage  which 
dares  but  does  not  reason.  No  need  of  that  with  us.  The 
task  we  have  to  accomplish  is,  in  truth,  devoid  of  danger. 
It  is  the  easiest  ever  proposed  to  the  intelligence  of  man. 
All  that  we  need  lies  where  God  placed  it  centuries  ago,  and 
is  ours,  if  only  we  will  take  it.  If  we  make  this  task  hard, 
it  is  because  we  will  not  reason.  If  dangers  arise,  they  will 
not  arise  from  the  mountain,  stream  or  valley,  nor  yet  from 
yonder  table  lands  nor  grassy  slopes.  They  will  arise  from 
ourselves.  This  we  must  study  to  avoid.  This  is  our  work. 
One  thing,  my  brothers,  we  must  do  from  the  outset.  Let 
our  community  be  self-dependent.  Let  us  call  upon  the 
outside  world  to  help  us  as  little  as  possible.  Let  us 
build  our  own  homes,  burn  our  own  lime,,  manufacture 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  3l 

onr  own  furniture  and  crockery.  Let  us  make  it  a  rule 
that  whatever  we  can  make  ourselves,  no  matter  how 
much  labor  it  costs  us,  that  we  will  make.  If  we  do  this  and 
work  together  success  is  certain." 

The  clergyman  spoke  for  nearly  half  an  hour  and  fin 
ished  amid  great  enthusiasm,  for  his  speech  was  able  and 
brilliant  and  calculated  to  produce  confidence  in  our  en 
terprise. 

This  ended  the  memorable  first  day. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    GENERAL    SYSTEM  — PROGRESS    THE    FIRST    YEAR- 
LAND  TITLES— LABOR  ORDERS. 

The^city  of  Co-opolis  was  established,  after  the  surround 
ing  region  was  duly  explored,  upon  the  site  of  our  first  camp 
in  Deer  Valley.  The  Hacket  ranch  and  water  rights  were 
acquired  by  our  company  at  a  small  expense,  the  farmers 
went  to  work  upon  it  immediately  and  in  a  comparatively 
short  time  we  had  many  acres  of  land  broken  and  planted. 
We  sowed  very  little  wheat  the  first  year,  but  made  a  spe 
cialty  of  r'orn,  calculating  that  we  could  feed  it  to  our  cattle 
and  hogs,  and  believing  that  we  could  realize  more  from  our 
live  stock  than  from  the  raising  and  sale  of  wheat.  We 
also  planted  vegetables  of  all  kinds  in  quantities  which  \vc 
believed  would  not  only  suffice  for  our  company  for  the 
following  winter,  but  would  enable  us  to  dispose  of  a  sur 
plus  in  the  mining  camps  in  the  mountains. 

The  ex-surveyor,  meanwhile,  proceeded  to  lay  out  a 
town.  This  was  a  very  simple  task',,  as  our  plan  was  to 
construct  a  public  hall  and  office  building  in  the  center  of 
a  large  square,  surround  the  latter  by  a  wide  street,  and 
erect  our  store,  hotel  and  residences  on  this  street.  If  the 
city  grew  it  was  considered  that  we  had  ample  space  at  our 
command.  Meanwhile  the  sawmill  had  arrived  and  had 
been  conveyed  to  a  place  on  the  banks  of  the  stream  and 
placed  in  charge  of  the  sawmill  men.  One  of  these  having 
great  experience  in  the  forests  of  Wisconsin,  took  a  number 
of  picked  commoners  and  went  to  the  headwaters  of  the 
stream  in  the  mountains  and  was  soon  able  to  send  a  large 
quantity  of  pine  logs  down  the  current,  where  they  were 
caught  and  sawed  into  lumber  of  various  dimensions. 
In  three  weeks  after  we  started  our  camp  our  carpenters 
had  built  a  temporary  frame  store  building,  a  rather  crude 
hotel  and  had  supplied  these  with  furniture  which  was 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  33 

rather  crude  and  unfinished  but  sufficient  for  our  purposes. 
It  was  not  considered  prudent  to  erect  any  permanent 
structures  until  our  lumber  should  become  better  seasoned, 
but  carpenters,  masons  and  stonecutters  proceeded  to  ex 
cavate  for  the  fifty  cottages  which  we  designed  to  construct 
for  our  members  and  their  families.  In  the  latter  part  of 
June,  such  was  our  industry,  we  had  a  very  respectable  ap 
pearing  village,  with  carpenter  and  blacksmith  shops  and 
general  store.  The  last  was  the  feature  of  the  village,  con 
taining  a  stock  of  hardware,  dry  goods  and  groceries  and 
a  stock  of  drugs  of  various  kinds.  The  hotel  furnished 
board  and  lodging  to  all  our  company. 

Shortly  after  our  arrival  at  Co-opolis,  at  a  series  of  meet 
ings  held  for  that  purpose,  we  had  formed  our  permanent 
organization,  taken  as  our  name  "The  Co-opolitan  Associa 
tion"  and  adopted  a  constitution  and  by-laws  to  regulate 
our  colony. 

The  constitution  dealt  only  with  the  system  of  govern 
ment  and  invested  the  lawmaking  body,  which  it  created, 
witli  unlimited  powers  as  to  all  other  matters. 

The  President  was  to  hold  office  for  seven  years  and  was 
ineligible  to  re-election. 

The  Vice-President  was  elected  for  the  same  period. 

The  first  President  and  Vice-President  were  elected  by 
all  active  members,  and  any  member  was  eligible,  but  after 
seven  years  these  officers  must  be  elected  from  arnong 
heads  of  departments  only. 

Heads  of  departments  were  to  be  denominated  chiefs  and 
were  to  be  chosen  by  popular  vote  from  among  foremen' 
and  the  latter  by  the  Legislative  Council. 

The  lawmaking  power  was  to  consist  of  the  heads  of 
departments  and  President  and  Vice-President,  the  former 
presiding  at  all  legislative  meetings  and  the  latter,  by 
virtue  of  his  office,  being  a  member  of  the  Legislative 
Council  with  the  right  to  speak  and  vote  on  all  propo 
sitions. 

Whenever  twenty  per  cent  of  the  men  and  women  of 
the  Association  should  petition  the  Legislative  Council  to 


34  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

declare  any  office  vacant  it  was  bound  to  submit  the  ques 
tion  as  to  whether  such  vacancy  should  be  so  declared  to 
popular  vote,  and  if  a  majority  decided  in  the  affirmative 
then  the  Council  must  dec  hire  it.  The  incumbent  whose 
office  or  position  was  thus  vacated  was  not  eligible  again 
for  the  remainder  of  his  unexpired  term  and  the  full  term 
following. 

Officers  found  guilty  by  the  Council  of  misfeasance  or 
malfeasance  in  office  were  also  subject  to  impeachment  by 
the  Council,  who  were  required  to  pass  on  the  particular 
charges  submitted  to  them.  , 

The  legislative  and  judicial  functions  were  both  con 
ferred  upon  the  Legislative  Council,  and  this  body  could 
initiate  and  complete  legislation,  but  on  petition  of  twenty 
per  cent  of  all  voters  proposing  a  new  law  the  Legislative 
Council  was  required  to  submit  such  law  to  popular  vote 
and  the  decision  of  a  majority -of  such  voters  operated  as 
either  an  enactment  or  repeal.  This  action  was  effectual 
to  permanently  dispose  of  such  law  for  five  years.  The 
constitution  was  also  subject  to  revision,  correction,  amend 
ment  or  repeal  by  the  same  method. 

The  constitution  further  provided  that  every  person 
under  twenty  years  of  age  should  be  in  charge  of  the  de 
partment  of  education,  that  no  man  or  woman  should  in 
any  event  be  required  to  work  more  than  twenty-five  years, 
but  that  after  having  contributed  twenty-five  years'  labor 
should  become  entitled  to  his  full  share  of  the  profits  dis 
tributed  annually  among  members. 

This  constitution  did  not  limit  the  right  of  the  people 
to  shorten  the  term  of  service  if  they  so  desired.  It  was 
deemed  expedient  to  provide  for  two  classes  of  industrials, 
wage  workers  and  members.  The  former  were  such  as 
were  employed  and  paid  reasonable  wages.  These  were 
rarely  employed  except  in  cases  of  emergency.  The  latter 
were  such  as  had  paid  an  entrance  fee  and  had  been  ac 
cepted  as  equal  partners  in  the  enterprise.  The  wage 
workers  were  such  as  enlisted  in  the  Industrial  Army  for 
pay  and  they  could  not  participate  in  the  affairs  of  the 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  35 

society  or  settlement.  But  any  one  of  these  who  was  in 
good  health  and  of  sound  mind  could  become  a  member 
on  payment  of  the  fee  required  and  on  enlisting  in  the 
Industrial  Army  subject  to  the  laws  of  the  society. 

No  person  was  admitted  who  was  over  fifty-five  years  of 
age  except  such  person  was  able  to  contribute  to  the  Asso 
ciation's  accumulated  wealth  an  amount  of  property  equal 
to  the  full  annual  dividend  of  the  average  member  at  the 
time  of  his  application,  multiplied  by  the  number  of  years' 
service  required  by  members.  In  later  years,  as  is  well 
known,  the  constitution  does  not  admit  an  applicant  who 
is  over  forty  except  on  the  same  terms. 

The  constitution  was  by  no  means  a  perfect  one  at  the 
outset,  but  it  was  sufficiently  elastic  and  stable  in  its  pro 
visions  to  admit  of  such  amendments,  without  danger  to  its 
substantial  features,  as  might,  from  time  to  time,  be  sug 
gested  by  experience. 

The  most  conservative  force  in  society  has  been  found  to 
be,  not  the  wise  nor  the  foolish,  but  the  majority  which  are 
neither  the  one  or  the  other.  These  are  not  generally  fa 
vorable  to  experimental  legislation,  and  long  before  the 
establishment  of  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth  Switzer 
land  proved,  by  the  operation  of  the  Initiative  and  Refer 
endum  provisions  of  their  constitution,  that  the  people 
were  disposed  to  accept  changes  in  their  social  system  with 
a  caution  that  made  progress  slow,  but  retrogression  im 
possible. 

The  first  year  of  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth  was 
a  very  successful  one.  We  had  May  1st,  1898,  over  one 
thousand  persons,  including  men,  women  and  children,  in 
our  city  of  Co-opolis,  two  hundred  and  fifty  substantial 
cottages,  an  excellent  public  hall,  a  good  hotel,  a  large  and 
sightly  three-story  building  containing  our  department 
store,  postoffice  and  offices  for  our  President,  Vice-Presi 
dent  and  heads  of  departments;  an  excellent  sehoolhouse 
with  graded  school  and  a  corps  of  eight  teachers,  consisting 
of  our  ex-clergyman,  who  became  first  principal,  and  teach 
ers  who  were  selected  from  among  the  wives  of  members. 


36  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

All  the  furniture  used  in  our  homes  and  buildings  at  this 
time  was  manufactured  of-  such  lumber  as  we  had  and  was 
somewhat  crude,  but  sufficient  in  all  respects.  In  our  de 
partment  store  were  sold  vegetables  produced  by  us,  con 
sisting  of  potatoes,  onions,  beets,  parsnips  and  all  of  the 
hardy  variety  grown  on  the  old  time  "breaking"  on  Rack 
et's  ranch.  We  had  home-made  preserves  and  a  quantity  of 
dried  fruit.  The  meat  department  was  well  supplied  from 
our  own  herds  of  cattle  or  from  the  surrounding  country, 
and  from  our  flocks  of  sheep,  which  had  largely  increased, 
partly  through  natural  causes  and  partly  because  much  of 
the  money  received  for  membership  fees  had  been  invested 
in  that  direction. 

Shortly  after  we  had  definitely  settled  upon  a  site  for 
Co-opolis  we  proceeded  to  acquire  land.  This  whole  valley 
was  what  in  the  United  States  land  office  was  denominated 
"desert  land/'*  not  because  it  was  barren  but  because  it  was 
unproductive  unless  reclaimed  by  irrigation.  Under  the 
laAv  it  was  permitted  that  each  man  enter  three  hundred 
and  twenty  acres  upon  declaring  his  intention  to  reclaim 
the  same,  and  we  had  in  this  manner  entered,  up  to  June 
1st,  some  sixteen  thousand  acres. 

We  had  also,  for  the  purpose  of  complying  with  the  law 
and  completing  our  titles,  proceeded  to  a  point  about  ten 
miles  up  the  stream,  and  had  there  constructed  a  dam,  col 
lecting  the  waters  of  the  stream  by  that  means,  and  were 
engaged,  whenever  the  weather  permitted,  in  excavating 
ditches,  or  building  flumes  so  as  to  conduct  a  large  quantity 
of  water  nearly  the  whole  length  of  the  valley,  but  high  up 
on  the  slopes  of  the  "tables"  on  the  south.  The  work  was 
by  no  means  finished,  but  it  was  easily  estimated  that  when 
our  plant  was  completed  over  eighty  thousand  acres  of  land 
would  be  available  for  agricultural  purposes.  That  was  on 
one  side  of  the  river.  Our  plans  also  included  the  irriga 
tion  of  the  north  side  of  the  river  in  the  same  manner.  The 
law  was  such  that,  being  the  owners  of  Hacket's  water 
right,  and  having  tapped  the  stream  at  a  time  that  no  other 
settlers  could  be  disturbed  or  interfered  with,  we  were  en- 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  37 

titled  to  the  exclusive  control  of  the  stream.  We  found 
that  the  law  reqiured  us  to  file  our  claims  to  this 
water  right  for  record  in  the  office  of  the  Register  of 
Deeds,  for  the  county,  and  did  so  accordingly.  It  was  not 
difficult  for  any  one  of  our- number  to  see  that  we  were  in  a 
position  to  shut  out  all  settlers  in  this  valley  who  were  not 
members.  The  water  right  was  taken  in  the  names  of 
Thompson,  myself,  Henderson,  Ortz  and  three  others,  who 
constituted  our  first  Legislative  Council,  as  trustees  for  the 
Association.  If  any  member  who  entered  the  land  thought 
to  segregate  his  tract  ultimately  from  the  great  body  of 
land  he  had  only  to  consider  that  it  was  entirely  worthless 
without  irrigation,  and  that  this  was  exclusively  controlled 
by  the  Association. 

The  Industrial  Army  at  this  time  numbered  five  hun 
dred,  one  hundred  and  fifty  being  women  and  three 'hun 
dred  and  fifty  men.  The  women  were  engaged  largely  in 
the  Domestic  department,  but  a  number  were  employed 
in  the  departments  of  Commerce  and  Education.  One  of 
the  merchants  had  charge  of  the  department  store,  but 
most  of  the  clerical  help  was  selected  from  among  the 
women.  The  bookkeeepers  were,  at  that  time,  all  women. 
The  chief  of  the  Domestic  department  was  a  woman  and  as 
such  participated  in  all  our  legislative  councils.  The  entire 
army  was  divided  into  companies  of  twenty,  and  at  the 
head  of  each  company  was  a  foreman.  Each  company  was 
again  divided  into  two  squads  of  ten  and  each  squad  had  a 
second  or  assistant  foreman.  In  forming  companies  or 
squads  our  chiefs  endeavored  to  have  the  members  com 
posed,  as  nearly  as  possible,  of  men  having  the  same  or  kin 
dred  trades.  We  now  had  three  physicians,  one  of  whom 
was  regarded  as  an  especially  skillful  surgeon.  We  also  had 
an  incipient  brass  band  which  assisted  largely  in  rendering 
the  hours  of  recreation  pleasant. 

At  this  time  we  had  a  rapidly  increasing  trade  at  our 
store  and  were  supplying  many  of  the  camps  with  such 
goods  as  they  needed.  Two  of  our  own  wagons  were  con 
stantly  employed  in  conveying  groceries,  hardware  and 


38  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

» 

other  ware  to  our  customers  in  the  mountains,  and  it  was 
not  an  uncommon  thing  for  five  or  six  wagons  to  come 
down  in  the  course  of  a  day  for  goods.  The  enterprise  was 
successful  and  the  prices  which  we  obtained  for  what  we 
sold  were  very  profitable.  We  were  obliged,  however,  to 
constantly  replenish  our  stock  of  groceries,  dry  goods,  hard 
ware  and  drugs  from  the  east.  We  also  sold  large  quantities 
of  beef  in  the  mountains  and,  not  caring  to  draw  too 
heavily  on  our  own  herds  for  this  demand,  we  kept  a  num 
ber  of  men  constantly  employed  hunting  and  purchasing 
animals  suitable  for  the  purpose.  We  also  devoted  a  build 
ing  to  the  sick  and  our  hospital  was  already  quite  famous 
throughout  the  entire  region.  Men  in  the  camps  who  were 
injured  or  who  had  become  sick  preferred  to  endure  the 
journey  to  Co-opolis  to  avail  themselves  of  our  physicians 
and  nurses  rather  than  risk  the  rough  and  sometimes  reck 
less  treatment  to  which  they  were  elsewhere  exposed.  Our 
hotel,  store  and  hospital  were  sources  of  profit  which  aided 
us  largely  the  first  and  second  years  of  our  career. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  problems  which  we  had  to  solve 
the  first  year  was  that  of  providing  a  medium  of  exchange 
for  the  use  of  our  own  members  and  also  such  persons  as  we 
might  employ.  We  recognized  that,  although  the  money  of 
society  was  at  variance  and  inconsistent  with  all  our  plans, 
until  we  had  fully  established  the  Co-operative  Common 
wealth  and  acquired  the  state  and  all  it  contained,  it  would 
be  impossible  to  establish  a  labor-check  system.  We  de 
cided  that  money  was  to  be  treated  as  a  mere  commodity 
and  purchased  as  such,  just  as  potatoes,  wheat  or  beef  were 
purchased.  In  dealing  with  the  world  outside  of  our  so 
ciety  we  must  have  money  until  we  should  become  inde 
pendent  of  it.  It.  was  on  that  theory  that  we  endeavored  to 
keep  our  fund  of  United  States  currency  increasing. 

How  to  deal  among  ourselves  was  the  question.  We  were 
satisfied  that  members  should,  as  nearly  as  possible,  receive 
equal  shares  of  what  was  produced  in  our  colony,  provided 
they  were  industrious  and  worked  honestly,  but  we  deemed 
that  in  the  formative  period  of  the  commonwealth  it  was 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  39 

inexpedient  to  adopt  the  check  system  of  Bellamy's  social 
plan  exclusively.  We  did,'  however,  decide  that  checks 
should  be  given  to  those  who  desired  them,  but  that,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  many  of  our  workers  were  to  be,  at  the 
outset,  mere  hired  men,  it  would  be  better  to  issue 
orders  for  each  one's  share  as  measured  by  dollars.  The 
laws  of  the  United  States  practically  denied  us  the  right  to 
issue  money  or  circulating  notes,  and  our  purpose  was  to 
build  our  state  in  entire  harmony  with  the  constitution. 
We  proposed  to  avoid  a  conflict  with  the  Federal  govern 
ment. 

It  was  therefore  decided  that  each  member  should  receive 
wages,  to  be  established  upon  the  basis  of  a  distribution  of 
sixty  per  cent  of  all  the  society  produced,  equally  divided 
among  all  persons  above  the  age  of  twenty-one,  whether 
male  or  female. 

The  forty  per  cent  undistributed  was  to  be  used  to  pur 
chase  money  for  the  use  of  the  department  store;  in  other 
words,  sold  for  cash.  These  wages  were  to  be  paid  in 
orders  on  the  treasurer,  signed  by  the  president.  They  were 
required  to  read  as  follows:  "To  the  Treasurer  of  the  Co- 
opolitan  Association:  Deliver  to  John  % Jenkins,  Foreman 
of  Company  Number  One  of  the  Industrial  Army,  one  (or 
any  denomination)  dollar's  worth  of  any  product,  conven 
ience,  privilege  or  license  at  your  disposal.  Signed,  John 
Thompson,  President." 

These  orders  were  to  be  delivered  to  the  foreman  only 
and  it  was  the  foreman's  duty  to  endorse  or  stamp  his  name 
on  the  back  so  that,  when  once  so  endorsed  or  stamped,  they 
became  current  as  a  medium  of  exchange,  but  not  as  a  meas 
ure  of  value.  The  foreman's  duty  was  to  pay  his  men  with 
these  orders  and  he  was  held  to  the  strictest  account  for  the 
disposition  made  of  each  order.  Whenever  an  order  was 
received  in  any  department  it  was  stamped  canceled  and 
never  again  issued.  Most  of  our  members  for  the  first  three 
years  preferred  the  check.  As  time  passed,  however,  the 
credit  labor  check  became  more  and  more  popular  and  in 
time  crowded  out  the  circulating  orders  entirely. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CO-OPOLIS  A  CONVENTION  CITY— A  MENACE  TO  LIBERTY. 

It  was  a  bright  day  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  1902,  that 
the  first  state  convention  of  the  Co-operative  Common 
wealth  met  in  our  city  of  Co-opoKs  to  place  in  nomination 
a  full  state  ticket  for  the  state  of  Idaho.  It  was  considered 
that  the  co-operators  were  strong  enough  to  take  possession 
of  the  political  machinery  of  the  state.  The  National 
Brotherhood,,  using  Co-opolis  as  a  basis  for  its  operations  in 
the  state,  had  directed  many  colonies  to  Co-opolis  and  we 
had  taken  charge  of  them  as  they  came,,  absorbed  most  of 
them  in  our  own  Industrial  Army,  and  others  we  had  as 
sisted  to  establish  themselves  in  some  fertile  valley  in  tho 
state  where  they  could  put  their  own  peculiar  ideas  and 
methods  of  co-operation  into  practice. 

We  now  had  fifty  thousand  male  and  female  voters,  upon 
whose  solid  support  we  could  count  to  carry  out  our  de 
signs.  Most  of  this  population  was  settled  through  the 
southern,  central  and  western  part  of  the  state,  and  there 
were  at  least  forty  cities  and  villages  entirely  devoted  to  our 
cause.  Co-opolis  contained  a  population  of  fifteen  thou 
sand  souls — men,  women  and  children.  Its  Industrial 
Army  was  7,000  strong,  and,  its  members,  working  not  more 
than  seven  hours  a  day,  accomplished  the  most  remarkable 
results. 

Co-opolis  itself,  while  not  comparable  with  the  present 
great  city,  was  at  that  time  the  fairest  city  on  the  face  of 
the  earth.  I'  say  this  not  because  it  could  or  did  boast  of 
massive  structures,  splendid  palaces  or  costly  monuments, 
for  these  were  absent,  but  because  there  was  not  a  mean  or 
dilapidated  building  in  it  and  there  was  not  a  pauper  among 
all  its  people.  Millionaires  were  not  numerous,  but  there 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  41 

were  several  rich  men,  all  of  whom,  except  Thompson, 
whose  father  had  died  leaving  him  a  vast  estate,  and  Hen- 
'derson,  who  had  always  been  accounted  wealthy,  were  vis 
itors,  or  resided  in  the  city  to  have  the  advantage  of  its 
hotel  and  climate.  These  latter,  be  it  said  in  passing, 
boarded  at  the  Co-opolitan  hotel  or  rented  cottages  of  the 
Association.  There  were  some  excellent  buildings,  among 
which  were  numbered  the  great  store  of  the  Department  of 
Commerce,  which  had  now  grown  to 'vast  proportions.  The 
building  was  four  stories  high  and  occupied  nearly  an 
ordinary  city  block.  The  larger  part  of  the  goods  exposed 
for  sale  were  produced  in  Co-opolis. 

In  the  next  block  to  this  structure,  on  the  site  of  the 
present  Co-opolitan  Hall,  was  one  which  more  modern  Co- 
opolis  has  placed  there,  but  which  had  a  seating  capacity  of 
10,000,  and  was  the  largest  and  best  equipped  in  the  state. 
With  the  grounds  belonging  to  it  the  hall  occupied  an  en 
tire  block.  The  next  block  contained  a  very  sightly  high 
school  edifice  and  its  grounds. 

All  the  avenues  in  the  city  were  so  laid  out  that  they 
consisted  each  of  a  park  fifty  feet  wide  with  a  driveway  of 
equal  width  on  each  side  and  resembled  in  some  respects 
the  boulevards  of  Paris.  The  parks  were  well-kept  lawns, 
surrounded  by  young  trees  and  traversed  by  gravel  walks. 
The  driveways  were  all  paved  with  asphalt,  as  were  also  the 
country  roads  extending  in  every  direction  for  one  mile 
beyond  the  city  proper.  All  avenues  and  streets  were  lined 
with  young,  thrifty  trees,  planted  by  the  Association. 

All  buildings  were  required  to  be  at  least,  fifty  feet  apart, 
and  the  spaces  between  were  arranged  according  to  the 
taste  of  the  occupants  of  the  houses.  There  were  no  fences 
in  the  city.  Common  wealth  Avenue  contained  the  several 
department  offices  and  storage  buildings.  There  were  three 
electric  railroads,  which  were  owned  in  common  by  all  the 
cities,  co-operative  towns  and  communities  of  the  state 
which  at  this  time  centered  in  Co-opolis.  The  congest  was 
one  hundred  and'  fifty  miles  and  extended  to  Boise,  the 
Capital  of  the  state. 


42  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

The  transcontinent  roads  also  entered  the  city.  But  the 
application  of  electricity  to  nearly  all  locomotion  had  en 
abled  the  city  to  preserve  its  streets  from  being  marred  and 
rendered  unsightly  and  dangerous  by  street  railroads.  The 
electric  motorcycles,  bicycles  and  tricycles,  operated  by 
storage  batteries,  which  plied  rapidly  along  the  smooth  and 
clean  asphalt  streets,  were  the  pleasing  harbingers  of  that 
system  by  which  we  are  now  enabled  to  travel  on  similar 
roads  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  fair  and  fa 
vored  Idaho. 

The  scene  presented  by  the  streets  of  Co-opolis,  on  this 
convention  day,  was  inspiring.  Everywhere  the  American 
flag  was  displayed,  and  sentiments  of  patriotism  filled  the 
air.  It  was  a  gala  day.  Not  only  had  the  delegates  to  the 
convention  congregated  in  the  city,  but  friends  and  en 
emies  seemed  to  have  thought  the  event  an  extremely  im 
portant  one  and  came  from  all  parts  of  the  state,  as  well  as 
from  Western  Oregon.  At  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning 
groups  of  people — men  and  women — wandered  through  the 
streets,  viewing  the  city,  and  all  the  public  vehicles,  motor 
cycles,  bicycles,  tricycles  and  carriages,  were  employed  in 
the  same  service.  For  the  accommodation  and  refreshment 
of  visitors  the  Commerce  department  had  caused  little  re 
freshment  fountains  to  be  stationed  in  different  parts  of  the 
city,  along  the  avenues,  and  in  the  parks,  containing  cool 
and  pleasant  drinks,  and  lunch  counters,  in  charge  of  mem 
bers  of  that  department,  were  also  located  in  places.  These 
supplied  the  public  needs  at  nominal  prices.  There  were 
also  pavilions  in  the  parks  every  six  blocks  where  tired 
wanderers  could  rest  themselves. 

As  the  chief  of  the  Messenger  and  Publishing  depart 
ments  I  had  charge  of  the  telephones,  telegraphs  and  public 
press  of  the  Association.  The  Daily  Co-opolitan  was  the 
only  newspaper  which  this  department  published  at  that 
time,  but  the  department  was  required  by  our  law  to  pub 
lish  whatever  any  member  or  association  of  members  was 
willing  to  pay  for  at  reasonable  rates.  The  Co-opolitan, 
however,  had  no  mission  but  the  publication  of  news,  pub- 


THE   CO-OPOLITAN.  43 

lie  opinions  as  represented  by  articles  appearing  in  other 
papers,  and  such  articles  as  might  be  contributed,  if  the 
contributors  signed  them.  Anonymous  editorials  or  arti 
cles  were  prohibited  and  nothing  appeared  while  the  paper 
was  under  my  charge  except  what  my  judgment  or  that  of 
my  staff  approved.  My  position  was  one  of  great  impor 
tance,  because  I  was  practically  in  control  of  public  opinion. 
I  hope  I  did  not  abuse  my  power  and  at  this  time  am  not 
conscious  that  I  did  so.  The  opportunity  for  such  abuse 
has  since  been  removed  by  the  establishment  of  many  other 
papers  all  printed  and  distributed  by  the  Association,  but 
controlled  and  edited  by  persons  who  advocate  their  own 
views. 

Seated  in  the  general  office  of  my  department  that  morn 
ing  running  over  the  columns  of  the  Co-opolitan,  I  noticed 
an  editorial  copied  from  the  Eoston  Transcript  of,  recent 
date  entitled  UA  Menace  to  Liberty/'"  I  immediately  read 
it  and  found  that  it  was  a  direct  attack  on  the  Co-opolitan 
Association.  It  classed  the  movement  with  the  Mormon 
occupation  of  Utah;  declared  that  it  was  hostile  to  a  repub 
lican  form  of  government;  asserted  that  the  men  who  had 
become  most  prominent  in  pushing  it  to  the  front  were 
designing  and  ambitious  persons  who  sought  only  their  own 
aggrandizement  and  alleged  that  it  had  become  so  powerful 
in  Idaho  as  to  threaten  to  take  control  of  the  state  and  set 
up  a  government  which  the  constitution  of  the  nation  for 
bade.  It  was  particularly  severe  on  John  Thompson. 
"This  man,'"'  it  said,  "is  reported  to  be  an  illiterate  but  able 
man,  possessed  of  great  executive  iorce,  who  has  conceived 
the  entire  plan  and  has  superintended  with  remarkable 
diligence  and  ability  the  details  of  its  development.  As 
President  of  the  company  he  is  the  practical  uncrowned 
king  of  Idaho.  This  scheme  to  embrace  a  state  within  the 
dominion  of  one  company  is  the  most  daring  and  dan 
gerous  yet  attempted  by  corporate  greed.  Should  it  suc 
ceed,  grave  constitutional  questions  will  arise  and  con 
gress  will  be  called  upon  to  deal  with  this  new  menace  to 
liberty  and  good  morals  as  it  did  with  the  Mormon  question. 


44  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

"There  is  this  difference,  however,  that  the  monopolistic 
octopus  now  threatening  Idaho  is  entrenched  behind  an 
unfortunate  system  which  recognizes  the  independence  of 
states  and  the  obnoxious  doctrine  of  state  rights,  while  the 
Mormens,  being  in  a  territory  which  was  directly  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  congress,  were  struck  down  by  the  senti 
ment  of  the  entire  Union  made  effective  by  national  legis 
lation.  But  as  our  people  found  means  to  rend  the  veil  of 
this  obnoxious  doctrine,  to  strike  down  slavery  in  the 
South,  so  it  will  find  a  way  to  rend  it  again  and  strike  down 
such  institutions  as  this  so-called  Co-operative  Common 
wealth  or  Co-opolitan  Association." 

I  threw  the  paper  down  upon  the  floor  with  an  expression 
and  feeling  of  indignation.  I  knew  that  our  movement 
had  attracted  wide  attention,  but  never  before  had  I  seen 
any  indication  of  hostility.-  The  newspaper  press  of  the 
United  Suites  had  generally  treated  the  undertaking  as  an 
experiment  which  would  teach  a  useful  lesson  if  successful, 
but  waived  it  aside  as  purely  idealistic  and  not  likely  to 
succeed.  Now  one  of  the  most  conservative  and  reputable 
metropolitan  dailies  in  the  country,  ignoring  all  its  former 
expressions  of  approval,-  had  deliberately  reversed  itself, 
suppressed  facts,  falsified  the  truth,  and,  on  the  eve  of  the 
success  of  the  co-operative  programme  in  Idaho,  had  begun 
a  campaign  for  its  destruction.  So  entirely  consumed  was 
I,  for  the  moment,  by  my  own  passion  that  I  did  not  notice 
the  entrance  of  President  Thompson  and  was  somewhat 
startled  when  he  saluted  me. 

"Brother  Braden,"  said  he,  "you  seem  to  be  disturbed 
about  something." 

"Yes,"  I  replied.  "Look  at  that  article  from  the  Boston 
Transcript  and  see  whether  I,  and  we,  have  not  cause  to 
be  troubled." 

"I  have  seen  it,"  calmly  rejoined  he.  "But,"  he  con 
tinued,  "I  am  not  surprised.  Having  read  extensively  and 
seen  much  I  have  learned  that  men  are  quite  likely  to  view 
with  complacency,  and  sometimes  approval,  the  develop 
ment  of  an  idea,  but  the  moment  that  idea  becomes  for- 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  45 

midable  they  attack  it.  I  expect,  in  fact,  that  we  will  win 
the  coming  election  in  this  state,  but  when  we  call  our  con 
stitutional  convention  I  am  by  no  means  certain  that  we 
will  get  the  majority  of  delegates." 

"Indeed,"  said  I,  "I  have  never  heard  you  talk  so  doubt 
fully  before.''' 

"I  know  it,  Braden,"  replied  Thompson.  "The  occasion 
has  never  before  arisen.  You  will  find,  however,  that  the 
battle  for  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth  has  just  begun. 
I  have  come  over  to  see  you  now  about  the  convention. 
Our  friends  are  asking  me  to  be  the  candidate  for  governor. 
I  have  not  been  inclined  to  accept,  but  I  would  be  glad  if 
you  will  give  me  your  opinion  as  to  whether  I  ought  to 
do  so." 

"You  must  do  so,"  I  exclaimed.  "I  have  not  expected 
anything  else.  I  know  that  you  consider  your  position  as 
President  of  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth  an  objection 
to  your  assuming  other  duties.  It  is  not.  You  should  retain 
both  positions.  Why,  sir,  I  expect  that  when  the  new  consti 
tution  is  framed  it  will  provide  for  a  President  whose  term 
of  office  will  be  commensurate  with  the  term  of  our  Presi 
dent  and  that  the  officers  of  one  will  be  the  officers  of  the 
other.  I  expect  that  this  dual  character  will  continue  to 
exist  until  every  trace  of  property  individualism  has  dis 
appeared  and  that  then,  instead  of  the  Co-operative  Com 
monwealth  being  Idaho,  Idaho  will  be  the  Co-operative 
Commonwealth. 

It  was  evident  that  the  view  so  expressed  made  an  im 
pression  on  Thompson.  We  talked  it  over  for  nearly  an 
hour  and  when  the  time  arrived  for  the  convention  to  meet 
it  was  practically  decided  that,  if  the  convention  should  so 
desire,  Thompson  would  accept  the  nomination  for  gov 
ernor. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  FIRST  CO-OPERATIVE   CONVENTION— THOMPSON  NOM 
INATED  FOR  GOVERNOR. 

The  great  hall  was  thronged  with  delegates  and  specta 
tors.  There  was  a  feeling  that  this  convention  was  to  select 
the  next  governor  and  state  officers  and  people  who  were 
not  members,  but  resided  in  Idaho,  were  many  of  them  dis 
posed  to  be  favorable.  The  railroads,  owners  of  gold  mines, 
some  of  the  great  cattle  kings,  real  estate  brokers,  money 
loaners  and  saloons  were  against  us,  but  the  masses  were 
friendly.  We  calculated  that  we  had  ten  thousand  more 
votes  at  our  disposal  than  our  opponents.  It  was  estimated 
by  the  leaders  of  the  People's  party  that  more  than  half  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  state  outside  of  the  Association 
would  support  the  ticket,  but  Thompson  had  several  times 
assured  me  that  while  more  than  half  were  disposed  to  sup 
port  us,  most  of  them  had  not  the  mental  strength  to  do  so. 
Be  that  as  it  may  the  convention  met,  organized  and  went 
to  work.  Xo  need  to  describe  all  that  was  done.  Mr. 
Edmunds,  chief  of  our  Department  of  Education,  made  a 
speech  nominating  John  Thompson  for  governor.  He  de 
scribed  the  Co-opolitan  Association,  presented  an  historical 
sketch  of  its  foundation  and  development,  pictured  Co- 
opolis  as  it  was  when  our  company  reached  Hacket's  ranch, 
told  the  story  of  each  year's  work,  and,  in  closing,  showed 
how  one  master  mind  conceived  and  one  master  spirit  di 
rected  every  detail  of  that  magnificent  undertaking. 

"You  would  hardly  credit,  if  you  were  acquainted  with 
the  facts,  the  history  of  Co-opolis  as  I  have  presented  it," 
said  he  as  he  proceeded.  "From  the  smallest  beginnings 
we  have  progressed  to  that  magnificent  estate  which  lies 
before  you.  'The  world  may  behold  if  it  will,  and  accept  the 
model  if  it  choose.  In  five  years  all  this  has  been  effected. 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  47 

In  the  first  year  we  had  only  the  bare  land,  the  running 
water,  a  few  cattle  and  sheep.  In  the  second  year  we  had 
five  thousand  cultivated  acres,  ten  thousand  sheep,  one 
thousand  cattle  and  abundant  harvests.  In  the  third  year 
we  had  a  surplus  of  produce  and  wool,  forty  thousand 
sheep,  twenty  thousand  cattle  and  with  the  help  of  irriga 
tion  abundant  harvest.  In  the  fourth  year,  in  addition  to 
two  hundred  thousand  sheep,  seventy-five  thousand  cattle 
and  abundant  harvests,  we  have  added  a  woolen  mill,  in 
which  we  manufacture  our  own  woolen  blankets  and  yarn 
and  knit  our  own  woolen  stockings  and  shirts.  We  can  sell 
these  in  any  market.  We  are  now  building  another  mill 
and  will  work  our  wool  product  into  cloth.  You  ask  how 
we  have  progressed  so  rapidly?  I  reply  that  the  Brother 
hood  throughout  the  United  States  has  contributed  much 
to  our  enterprise  by  purchasing  our  surplus  products  and 
disposing  of  them  in  eastern  markets.  But  better  than  this 
we  have  never  lost  the  labor  power  of  one  able-bodied  man 
during  all  this  time.  The  confidence  of  the  Brotherhood 
in  us  was  due  to  the  magnificent  generalship  of  one  great 
man,  and  that  one  great  man  was  and  is  John  Thompson  of 
Co-opolis.  (Here  the  enthusiasm  became  unbounded  and 
the  audience  cheered  for  several  minutes.) 

"But,  my  friends,  let  me  say  to  you  that  John  Thompson 
has  not  only  been  a  general.  He  inherited  a  large  fortune 
from  his  father  and  while  he  has  not  contributed  one  cent 
of  this  to  the  Commonwealth  he  has  sent  men  at  his  ex 
pense  to  several  of  the  great  cities  of  this  country  to  search 
out  deserving  persons  and  has  advanced  to  them  the  funds 
to  come  hither  and  to  pay  the  one  hundred  dollars  required 
of  each  person  on  admission.  These  amounts  have  been 
repaid  from  the  wages  of  the  recipient  in  due  time.  I  say 
to  you,  gentlemen,  that  this  world  does  not  contain  a  more 
thoughtful,  able  and  public-spirited  man  than  John 
Thompson,  whom  I  now  nominate  for  governor  of  Idaho." 

Mr.  Edmunds  sat  down  and  the  great  hall  fairly  shook 
with  the  applause  which,  as  often  as  it  subsided,  was  re 
peated  again  and  again.  James  Rutherford  of  Boise  City, 


48  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

a  delegate  who,  although  a  member  of  the  National  Broth 
erhood,  was,  as  yet,  not  connected  with  any  colony,  sec 
onded  the  nomination  and  moved  that  President  Thomp 
son  be  declared  the  nominee  by  acclamation.  The  motion 
was  put  and  carried  without  a  dissenting  vote  amid  the 
wildest  enthusiasm.  The  nominee  having  been  escorted  to 
the  platform  by  a  committee  designated  for  that  purpose, 
addressed  the  convention,  after  the  tremendous  cheers 
given  in  his  honor  had  subsided. 

As  he  stood  facing  the  great  audience  waiting  an  oppor 
tunity  to  begin  I  thought  I  had  never  seen  him  look  so 
masterful  bei'ore.  His  tall,  powerfully  built  frame  pre 
sented  the  picture  of  an  athlete,  and  his  face  expressed  an 
intelligence  which  could  only  belong  to  a  man  of  great 
intellectual  force.  He  was  the  personification  of  strength 
of  physique,  mind  and  will.  His  face,  as  usual,  was  clean 
shaven,  h:s  black  hair  was  combed  straight  back  from  his 
forehead,  his  large  dark  eyes  surveyed  his  audience  with  a 
lookwhichwasastrangecommingling  of  love  and  command. 
I  do  not  believe  a  man,  friend  or  enemy,  in  the  multitude 
before  him  doubted  his  sincerity,  or  was  conscious,  for  the 
moment,  of  any  other  sentiment  than  that  of  admiration. 
He  drew  all  men  toward  him  and,  as  many  have  often  re 
lated  to  me  since,  when  they  came  within  his  influence 
they  seemed  most  naturally  to  fall  in  line  behind  him  and 
acknowledge  him  as  leader.  He  began  to  speak  slowly,  but 
his  voice  could  be  heard  distinctly  throughout  the  great 
hall. 

"Mr.  President  and  gentlemen,"  said  he,  "we  have  now 
reached  a  point  in  the  history  of  this  Commonwealth  which 
marks  the  beginning  of  an  epoch.  To  my  mind  it  is  ap 
parent  that  all  the  events  of  Christian  civilization  have  been 
a  preparation  for  the  higher  civilization  which  we  are  privi 
leged  to  usher  in.  It  has  been  said  that  'Time's  noblest 
offspring  is  her  last,'  and  we  may  hope  that  such  offspring  is 
this  day  born,  and  that  it  will  thrive  and  continue  to  grow 
until  time  shall  be  no  more.  I  have  always  believed  that 
the  old  system  from  which  we  have  sought  to  escape  is 


THE   CO-OPOLITAN.  49 

barbaric  feudalism,  and  that,  whether  in  its  ancient  mili 
tary  or  its  modern  commercial  form,  it  was  distorted  by 
selfishness  and  greed. 

"The  motives  of  the  robber  baron  of  the  dark  ages  and 
the  self-serving  organizer  of  trusts  to-day  do  not  differ, 
and  if  in  the  dark  ages  the  one,  by  force  of  arms,  held 
possession  of  fertile  valleys  and  exacted  tribute  from  neigh 
boring  peoples,  the  other  by  fraud  monopolizes  an  industry 
and  seeks  to  crush  out  all  competitors.  Death  strewed  the 
paths  of  both,  the  one  being  no  less  hideous  in  blood  than 
the  qther  was  in  the  g^iint  and  shrunken  spectre  of  starva 
tion.  The  one,  however,  spent  itself  in  its  own  terrors  and 
disappeared  before  the  awful  ravages  of  destructive  war. 
So  the  other  has  exhausted  itself  in  greed  and  making  the 
automaton  serve  in  the  stead  of  man  has  taught  man  the 
lesson  of  co-cperation. 

"I  have  never  been  a  friend  to  political  socialism  as  a 
factor  in  building  up  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth. 
My  judgment  has  proposed  to  me  the  development  of  the 
co-operative  principle  in  commercial  and  industrial  lines 
until  it  became  so  strong  that  it  could  not  be  ignored.  In 
that  manner  the  railroads,  telegraphs  and  other  vast  inter 
ests  from  unknown  forces,  developed  into  those  mighty 
giants  which  came  to  control  the  government  and  now 
terrorize  the  people.  I  have  hoped  that  the  Co-operative 
Commonwealth  developing  in  like  manner,  slowly  but* 
surely,  might  with  very  different  motives  and  for  different 
purposes,  become  strong  enough  to  take  the  government 
and  wield  it  for  the  common  good  of  all.  If  I  mistake  not, 
the  time  has  come,  the  Commonwealth  is  equal  to  its  pur 
pose,  and  we  may  assume  our  political  rights.  If  we  win 
in  the  election  now  approaching  the  state  of  Idaho  will 
become  a  co-operative  state.  Our  aim  should  be  to  estab 
lish  our  system  without  encroaching  upon  the  constitution 
of  the  nation.  We  will  violate  none  of  the  provisions  of 
that  instrument,  but  we  will  carefully  observe  all  its  limita 
tions.  This  will  be  no  more  difficult  for  us  than  it  is  for 
the  great  trusts  and  monopolies,  which  have  become  so 


50  THE   CO-OPOLITAN. 

powerful  that  they  are  able  to  obtain  an  interpretation  of 
the  constitution  when  they  wish  it,  whereby  its  limits  have 
been  and  are  constantly  extended  to  suit  their  purposes. 
By  presenting  a  model  of  one  co-operative  commonwealth, 
we  may,  and  I  believe  will,  sooner  or  later  induce  other 
states  to  follow  our  lead,  and  the  entire  sisterhood  of  states 
may  form  one  great  co-operative  nation.  But  we  should 
advance  to  the  accomplishment  of  our  purpose,  in  this  state, 
with  wisdom  and  caution. 

"We  must  make  as  few  mistakes  as  possible.  Our  en 
deavor  must  be  to  understand  and  strictly  conform  to  the 
law.  -We  must  respect  the  opinions  of  those  who  do  not 
agree  with  us.  We  must  not  disturb  any  citizen  in  the  en 
joyment  of  his  property  and  it  should  never  be  forgotten 
that  the  Commonwealth  depends  for  its  growth  solely  upon 
volunteers.  You  have,  my  friends,  nominated  me  to  be  the 
first  governor  of  Co-operative  Idaho.  I  have  consented  to 
accept  this  dignity  only  because  I  now  believe  that  he  who 
acts  as  President  of  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth  should 
also  be  the  governor  of  the  state,  until  every  vestige  of  the 
old  system  is  removed  from  Idaho  and  all  its  people  have 
voluntarily  entered  the  new  system.  We  must  have  a  dual 
government,  but  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth  must 
control  it. 

"Idaho,  the  name  of  our  state,  is  said  to  mean  'Light  on 
the  Mountains.'  We  will  strive  to  give  it  a  still  broader 
signification  and,  God  willing,  it  shall  be  a  light  to  all  the 
people. 

"The  Co-operative 'Commonweal th  was  conceived  by  men 
who  believed  the  human  race  capable  of  advancing  to  the 
highest  ideal  of  civilization.  It  never  depended,  for  its 
success,  upon  those  philosophers  who  chose  to  believe  that 
because  they  themselves  did  not  feel  the  pinch  of  want 
therefore  none  others  need  feel  it,  nor  of  those  philanthro 
pists  who  were  always  going  about  giving  that  sort  of  tem 
porary  relief  which  only  served  to  make  the  source  of  pov 
erty  all  the  more  prolific  and  the  cause  all  the  more  ob 
scure.  They  did  not  ask  advice  of  learned  students  of  his- 


THE    CO-OP(!>LITAN.  51 

tory,  who  by  that  dim  light  discovered  only  the  passions 
and  sins  of  great  sinners,  and  being  diverted  by  the  mon 
sters  whose  careers  filled  the  world  with  their  unhallowed 
fame,  failed  to  observe  the  patient,  law-abiding,  industrious 
and  sober  millions  who  toiled  unobserved  in  the  back 
ground. 

"The  Co-operative  Commonwealth  is  founded  upon  the 
theory  that  all  men  can  as  well  habituate  themselves  to  con 
form  to  higher  as  to  lower  standards.  The  individualist, 
the  theoretical  democrat,  urges  that  our  system  will  tend 
to  destroy  self-reliance  and  to  weaken  the  individual  man. 
^The  same  proposition  carried  to  its  logical  conclusion 
would  abolish  all  co-operative  effort,  and  as  society,  even  in 
its  lowest  forms,  rests  upon  co-operation,  all  society  is,  if 
judged  by  that  standard,  but  weakening  in  its  effects.  But 
whether  co-operation  makes  men  weak  depends  upon  its 
purpose.  If  it  is  organized  for  theft,  murder  or  lewdness, 
then  it  certainly  tends  to  make  men  morally  weak.  If  it  is 
organized  for  luxury,  riot  or  intemperance,  then  it  tends  to 
make  them  physically  weak.  If  its  purpose  is  blasphemy, 
gross  materialism  and  the  prevention  of  the  free  investiga 
tion  of  religious  truth,  it  cannot  fail  to  make  men  spirit 
ually  weak.  The  Co-operative  Commonwealth  is  organized 
for  none  of  these.  Its  aim  is  to  produce  a  better  and  strong 
er  man  mentally,  physically,  morally  and  spiritually.  It 
gives  the  fullest  education  to  all  and  endeavors  to  make  the 
minds  of  its  pupils  independent  and  self-reliant.  It  offers 
the  largest  opportunity  for  physical  culture,  and  in  all 
moral  and  spiritual  spheres  presents  the  highest  and  best 
standards,  without  limiting  freedom  of  thought  or  criti 
cism. 

"In  brief,  the  consummation  of  our  programme  is,  the 
complete  elimination  of  speculation,  gambling  and  unjust 
advantage  from  the  social  state,  and  to  guarantee  our  mem 
bers  the  rewards  of  their  own  efforts.  We  do  not  permit  the 
rich  to  rob  the  poor,  the  strong  to  prey  upon  the  weak,  nor 
the  keen  to  sharpen  their  faculties  at  the  material  expense 
of  those  who  may  be  dull.  To  say  that  this  is  injurious  to 


52  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

the  development  of  what  is  best  in  man,  is  to  assert  that  life 
has  no  purpose  except  physical  gain,  and  that  the  main 
purpose  of  life  is  to  provide  clothing,  shelter  and  food.  We 
hold  that  these  are  only  the  means  of  life  and  that  the  pur 
pose  of  life  is  the  highest  development  of  manhood  and 
womanhood  for  the  acquisition  and  appreciation  of  truth. 

"The  Co-operative  Commonwealth  is  a  great  insurance 
association,  and  as  such  guarantees  to  its  member  the  en 
joyment  of  his  or  her  earnings.  It  goes  one  step  further, 
and  assures  him  that  if  accident  or  sickness  shall  deprive 
him  of  physical  or  mental  ability,  or  death  shall  remove 
him  from  a  dependent  family,  all  physical  and  mental 
needs  shall  be  provided  for  him  or  them.  All  such  ad 
vantages  were  and  are  regarded  as  lending  strength  to  any 
form  of  society  and  surely  they  cannot  be  other  than  meri 
torious  features  of  our  system. 

With  a  firm  belief  in  the  righteousness  of  our  great 
cause,  and  assuring  you  that  my  life  is  devoted  to  your  serv 
ice,  I  again  express  my  willingness  to  accept  this  nomina 
tion.  1  need  give  you  but  one  pledge  and  giving  that  you 
can  feel  perfectly  secure  that  your  will  is  to  govern  the 
future.  It  is  my  purpose  to  use  my  utmost  endeavors  to 
have  a  constitutional  convention  called  as  speedily  as  pos 
sible,  if  I  shall  be  elected,  and  through  that  convention  you, 
my  brothers,  will  establish  the  Co-operative  Common 
wealth  forever." 

Again  the  convention  went  wild  with  enthusiasm  and 
the  delegates  and  visitors  crowded  around  the  nominee. 
I  have  attended  many  state  conventions,  but  never  before 
saw  one  which  resembled  so  closely  in  its  magnitude  and 
tumultuous  enthusiasm  those  assemblages  in  which  the  na 
tional  parties  are  wont  to  designate  their  choice  for  chief 
magistrate  of  the  great  republic.  The  reason,  however,  was 
apparent.  All  understood  that  this  convention  was  to  in 
itiate  a  peaceful  revolution  whose  influence  would  ulti 
mately  be  world-wide  in  extent. 

After  the  enthusiasm  attending  the  nomination  had  sub 
sided  the  convention  nominated  the  remainder  of  the 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  53 

ticket.    All  the  candidates  were  co-operators,  but  selected 
from  different  localities. 

For  Secretary  of  State,  Addison  Wellman  of  Boise  City; 
State  Treasurer,  Benjamin  D.  Cor  win  of  Alpha,  then  a 
flourishing  colony,  now  a  great  city,  on  the  Snake  river, 
about  sixty  miles  from  Co-opolis.  For  Lieutenant-Governor, 
Edward  J.  Murphy  of  Banford,  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
state.  This  ticket,  be  it  said,  did  not  fully  conform  to  our 
plan  to  have  the  officers  of  the  state  and  the  association 
identical,  but  it  was  considered  best  to  unite  all  our  colonies 
under  one  brotherhood  government  within  the  state  and 
then  to  carry  our  plan  of  official  identity  of  state  and 
brotherhood  into  effect.  The  platform  adopted  was  very 
brief.  It  pledged  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth  to  re 
spect  all  vested  rights  and  to  conform  to  the  constitution  of 
the  United  States,  but  asserted  that  the  sources  and  ma 
chinery  of  material  production  should  be  owned  in  com 
mon.  It  also  declared  for  a  constitutional  convention  to  be 
called  at  an  early  date. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

MY    HOME    LIFE— AUNT     LYDIA— MISS    WOODBERRY-TRIP 
TO  CANYON  LAKE. 

According  to  the  laws  of  the  Brotherhood  each  company 
was  entitled  to  a  fortnightly  holiday  and  as  far  as  possible 
work  was  entirely  suspended  on  Sunday.  The  day  after 
the  convention  was  Thursday  and  the  company  of  which  I 
was  a  member  enjoyed  a  "lay-off"  on  that  day.  Although 
the  convention  had  kept  me  up  late  the  night  before  I  arose 
early,  having  arranged  an  outing  in  the  country  with  a 
small  company  of  friends.  The  Co-opolitan  lay  on  the  walk 
as  I  stepped  out  to  sit  upon  the  veranda  while  breakfast  was 
being  prepared.  I  picked  it  up  and  sitting  down  proceeded 
to  read  the  news.  At  that  time  my  residence  was  on  Salem 
Avenue  where  it  widened  ini,o  an  extensive  park  in  which 
was  a*  lake  fed  from  an  artesian  well  around  which  a  grove 
of  young  trees  grew  luxuriantly.  My  house  was  not  a  large 
one.  It  had  been  constructed  for  me  by  the  association,  as 
all  private  dwellings"  had  been  for  their  occupants,  upon  a 
plan  such  as  the  occupant  furnished.  The  estimated  cost 
to  the  Association  was  one  thousand  dollars  as  represented 
by  orders  paid  out  by  it  for  the  labor  and  material  used.  It 
is  well  to  state  here  that  iiie  construction  of  a  house  was  to 
the  Association  hardly  mire  than  a  question  of  labor.  My 
house  was,  like  all  the  dwellings  in  the  city  at  that  time 
except  apartment  houses,  a  frame  structure.  The  timber 
had  been  obtained  from  the  neighboring  forests  by  our  own 
people  without  cost.  It  had  been  sawed  into  lumber  by  our 
mills.  It  had  been  put  together  by  our  carpenters. 
The  stone  for  the  foundations,  the  lime  for  the  walls  and 
ceiling,  the  brick,  mortar,  sand,  and,  in  short,  all  but  the 
nails,  screws,  locks  and  gears  were  produced  by  the  labor  of 
our  own  people.  Three  years  later,  even  these  were  manu- 


THE   CO-OPOLITAN.  55 

factured  in  Idaho.  So  that  the  house  cost  little  more  than 
the  cost  of  the  labor  employed  in  its  construction.  But  it 
was,  nevertheless,  as  well  built  and  as  commodious  as  one 
costing  three  thousand  dollars  in  an  eastern  city  under  the 
competitive  system,  showing  that  our  co-operative  system 
was  at  least  "three  times  as  effective  *in  this  line  as  the 
competitive  system.  This  showing,  however,  is  limited  i<> 
i he  building  trades  alone,  and  does  not  include  the  enor 
mous  increase  of  productivity  by  the  employment  of  all 
labor  power  in  the  direction  of  greatest  utility. 

The  rooms  were  all  provided  with  open  fireplaces  for 
heating  purposes,  but  the  cooking  apparatus  consisted  of  a 
gas  stove.  Gas,  electricity,  steam  heating  and  both  hot  and 
cold  water  were  furnished  by  the  Association  at  a,  small 
cost.  In  fact  the  rent  of  the  house,  its  lighting  and  healing 
us  well  as  its  supply  of  water,  cost  me  only  one  hundred  and 
forty-four  dollars  per  year,  or  twelve  dollars  per  month,  and 
the  service  was  complete.  Besides  this,  any  repairs  needed 
were  attended  to  at  once  and  the  house  was  kept  in  perfect 
order.  The  furniture  was  also  provided  by  the  department 
store  as  selected  by  myself.  Even  the  carpets  were  manu 
factured  in  Co-opolis.  This  furniture  was  paid  for  by  me 
in  Commonwealth  orders  and  was  mine  without  reserva 
tion. 

In  those  times  most  of  us  preferred  to  prepare  our  break 
fasts  at  home,  but  we  usually  either  had  our  other  meals 
sent  from  the  public  kitchens  close  at  hand  or  went  to  the 
public  dining  halls  or  hotel.  The  Domestic  department  had 
charge  of  the  entire  domestic  work  of  the  city  and  com 
panies  were  stationed  in  each  precinct  for  that  purpose. 
Whenever  any  house  wanted  domestic  work  performed  it 
was  only  necessary  to  telephone  to  the  proper  station  and  a 
well-trained  domestic,  either  man  or  woman,  as  desired,  was 
sent  for  the  purpose.  The  time  of  the  domestic  was 
charged  to  the  house  and  the  cost  of  the  service  collected 
by  the  department  each  month,  like  the  rent.  gas.  tele 
phone,  water  and  heating  bills.  The  streets  and  grounds 
were  kept  in  order  by  the-city  at  the  public  expense. 


56  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

For  nearly  a  year  an  aunt  of  mine,  an  old  widow  of  most 
excellent  character,  had  been  keeping  house  for  me.  She 
was  not  a  member  of  the  association,  did  no  service  and 
drew  no  pay,  but  lived  entirely  on  my  bounty.  She  was  a 
strict  Congregationalist  of  the  New  England  type,  read 
her  bible  diligently;  assisted  in  maintaining  a  religious  so 
ciety  of  that  denomination,  and  was  one  of  the  most  kindly 
and  lovable  souls  in  our  neighborhood.  She  was,  of  course, 
too  old  to  become  an  active  member  of  the  society  and  too 
poor  to  purchase  a  membership.  She  did  not  altogether 
approve  the  system  in  operation  in  Co-opolis,  but  rarely 
ever  expressed  any  criticism  upon  it. 

I  think  she  was  as  comfortable  and  happy  as  any  old  lady 
in  the  country,  for  her  time  was  employed,  either  in  sewing, 
light  domestic  work,  reading,  writing  letters  home,  or  rid 
ing  with  the  motorcycle  which  I  kept  at  her  disposal.  She 
was  alwa}^  endeavoring  to  economize  in  household  matters 
because  she  felt  that  she  was  a  charge  upon  me.  It  was  in 
vain  that  I  assured  her  of  the  growing  wealth  of  Co-opolis, 
and  tried  to  get  her  to  realize  that  I  had  a  share  in  all  this 
wealth  which  would  last  me  my  lifetime.  She  could  not 
comprehend  it  and  still  continued  to  save. 

This  morning  she  was  quite  busy,  according  to  her  usual 
custom,  and  it  was  not  long  after  I  sat  down  to  read  that 
her  cheerful  voice  called  me  to  partake  of  the  morning 
meal.  It  was  not  an  elaborate  one,  but  it  was  an  Idaho  pro 
duction  almost  entirely.  The  rolled  oats  were  grown, 
rolled  and  prepared  in  Co-opolis;  the  flour,  maple  syrup, 
butter  and  even  the  sugar  were  made  in  Idaho,  and  none 
better  were  ever  made  elsewhere.  The  sugar  was  the 
product  of  the  beet-sugar  factory  at  Laselle,  which  had 
been  established  by  the  National  Brotherhood  two  years 
before.  The  salt  was  manufactured  by  our  Association,  and 
this  morning  we  had  plates  which  were  among  the  first 
productions  of  a  new  industry  added  by  the  Department  of 
Manufactures  just  two  months  previously.  The  silver  on 
the  table  was  some  which  I  had  inherited  from  my  mother 
and  was  highly  prized.  The  oak  extension  table,  sideboard 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  57 

and  chairs  in  the  dining:  room  also  represented  our  Co- 
opolitan  labor.  Aunt  Lydia  sat  at  the  table  with  me  and 
served  the  coffee. 

"Willie,"  said  she,  as  she  reached  me  the  cream,  "I  guess 
I  won't  go  to-day.  I  promised  Mrs.  Cressy  that  I  would 
spend  a  day  with  her,  and  she  has  a  holiday;  so,  if  you  have 
no  objection,  I  will  go  there  instead  of  the  lake." 

"Why,  Aunt  Lydia,"  I  exclaimed,  "what  has  made  you 
change  so  suddenly?  Of  course  you  must  go  with  us.  Mr. 
Fuller  and  Joe  Preston  are  all  going  and  if  you  don't  go  I'll 
simply  have  to  ride  alone.  You  must  go."  * 

"No,  Willie."  She  always  called  me  Willie.  "No,"  she 
declared  again.  "The  Prestons  have  company  just  from 
Boston,  a  Miss  Wroodberry;  I  met  her  yesterday.  She  seems 
to  be  a  very  nice  young  lady  and  I  want  you  to  go  with  her 
and  show  her  the  valley." 

"Why,  aunt,"  I  replied,  "I  will  do  nothing  of  the  kind. 
"I  want  you  to  go  and  have  made  my  arrangements  ac 
cordingly." 

But  my  aunt  was  obdurate  and  all  I  could  say  was  un 
availing.  The  truth  was  she  was  anxious  that  I  should 
marry  and  was,  very  much  to  my  anno}^ance  at  times,  al 
ways  contriving  to  throw  me  in  the  way  of  young  ladies, 
hoping  that  I  would  meet  my  fate.  I  suspected  that  this 
was  another  scheme  of  that  kind  and  felt  provoked.  If  I 
could  have  found  a  good  excuse  I  would  have  canceled  my 
engagement  and  remained  at  home.  But  no  excuse  pre 
sented  itself.  What  was  even  worse,  as  I  thought,  my  aunt 
had  gone  so  far  as  to  invite  Miss  Woodberry  to  take  her. 
place  in  the  party,  which  that  young  lady  as  a  guest  of  the 
Prestons,  who. were  also  going,  very  naturally  and  promptly 
accepted.  Of  course  I  could  not  scold  t]ic  dear  old  med 
dling  lady,  and  so,  although  much  put  out,  I  philosoph 
ically  submitted  to  the  inevitable. 

After  breakfast  Joe  Preston,  a  young  man  about  twenty, 
who  had  just  entered  the  Industrial  Army,1  in  the  Trans 
portation  department,  but  who  had  a  holiday  also,  came 


58  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

over  and  said  that  he  had  been  to'  the  precinct  kitchen  and 
had  all  the  edibles  put  up  for  the  trip  and  that  Miss  Wood- 
berry  was  ready  to  go  whenever  I  was.  He  took  the  motor 
cycle  from  the  shed  back  of  the  house,  adjusted  the  storage 
battery,  and  conducted  the  vehicle  around  to  the  front 
door.  I  entered  and  a  minute  later  we  were  at  the  door  of 
the  Preston  cottage,  where  we  found  the  entire  party,  Miss 
Woodberry  among  the  rest,  waiting  with  their  vehicles. 
The  formalities  of  an  introduction  over  I  assisted  Miss 
Woodberry  to  her  place  and  seating  myself  by  her  side  we 
started  away,  the  rest  of  the  party  following. 

Our  destination  was  the  lake  made  by  damming  the 
waters  of  Deer  River  and  flowing  about  two  hundred  acres 
of  land  in  the  canyon  where  the  stream  emerges  from  the 
mountains.  We  called  it  Canyon  Lake  and  laid  out  a 
park  around  it,  which  at  that  time  was  not  completed,  but 
gave  promise  of  much  beauty.  It  was  my  intention  to 
alcend  the  divide  south  of  the  city,  pursue  the  road  which 
ran  along  the  slope  and  take  in  the  scenery  which  delighted 
the  eye  from  that  elevation.  So  we  followed  the  asphalt 
pavement  as  far  as  it  went  in  that  direction  and  then  rolled 
along  the  smoothly  macadamized  country  driveway.  The 
Co-opolitans  of  that  day  were  very  proud  of  their  roads  and 
spent  much  time  and  labor  upon  them.  They  were  all 
wide,  smooth  and  well  shaded  and  accommodations  for 
drinking  both  for  man  and  beast — horses  were  still  in  use 
for  drawing  heavy  burdens  at  that  time — were  provided 
from  the  big  flume  and  the  reservoirs  of  our  system  of  irri 
gation. 

•  The  lady  by  my  side  was  enthusiastic  over  all  she  saw 
and  so  bright  and  unaffected  were  her  remarks  and  ex 
clamations  that,  before  we  had  gone  very  far,  I  began  to 
enjoy  her  society.  She  was  not  a  remarkably  handsome 
person,  but  she  had  what  I  suppose  my  female  acquaint 
ances  would  call  "style."  That,  of  course,  was  a  matter  of 
dress,  all  of  which  had  its  effect  on  me  as  fashion  intended, 
but  none  of  which  I  could  describe.  In  a  general  way  I 
could  see  that  she  had  a  jaunty  hat  full  of  bright-colored 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  59 

artificial  flowers,  a  loose-fitting  white  waist  and  a  gown  of 
some  blue  material.  Her  form  was  tall  and  rather  slender, 
her  hair  auburn,  her  features  some  what  ^pronounced,  but 
intellectual,  her  mouth  indicated  firmness,  but  was  in  an 
everlasting  conspiracy  with  a  pair  of  large  blue  eyes  to  ex 
press  all  that  is  bright  and  sunny  in  the  feminine  char 
acter. 

She  had  one  of  those  faces,  in  which  no  feature  was  above 
criticism,  but  upon  which  so  many  happy  thoughts  and 
kindly  emotions  were  continually  expressing  themselves, 
that  criticism  was  as  soon  forgotten  as  made,  and  once  for 
gotten  was  never  recalled.  I  was  seized^  as  we  walked  to 
gether,  with  a  great  desire  to  show  her  novel  or  beautiful 
scenes,  and  to  tell  her  what  I  knew.  I  never  enjoyed  any 
thing  so  much  as  the  varying  expressions  of  her  face,  al 
ways  intelligent,  always  pure,  always  gentle,  and  withal 
full  of  strong  character.  It  was  evident  that  she  had  read 
much,  seen  many  places  and  had  a  clear  understanding. 
But  it  was  also  apparent  that  she  was  in  search  of  the  pure, 
the  beautiful,  the  good,  and  she  was  altogether  like  what 
she  sought.  One  most  remarkable  fact  about  her  was  that 
although  a  Bostonian  she  did  not  insist  that  Boston  should 
be  the  sole  subject  of  conversation. 

After  an  hour's  journey  from  the  city,  moving  rapidly 
along  the  levels,  swiftly  down  the  inclines  and  slowly  up 
the  steep  road  which  ascended  to  the  divide,  we  reached  the 
place  which  I  have  always  considered  the  best  from  which 
to  view  Co-opolis.  Here  our  party  halted  for  a  time,  re 
maining  in  our  carriages  and  discussing  the  many  objects 
of  interest.  The  mountains,  black  and  threatening,  looked 
down  upon  us  as  if  with  sullen  displeasure,  and  beyond  the 
wild  wastes  of  treeless  and  houseless  valleys,  far  to  the 
south,  rose  the  weird  forms  of  the  Seven  Devils,  presiding 
over  a  kind  of  a  golden  Hades.  But  it  was  not  the  moun 
tains  nor  the  wilderness  which  attracted  us  mostly. 

Before  us  lay  the  garden  of  brotherly  love,  in  whose 
bosom  nestled  the  fair  city  of  Co-opolis.  That  city  was 
indeed  a  picture  of  peace  and  loveliness,  with  all  its  great 


gO  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

public  buildings,  its  wide  streets,  its  artificial  lakes  and 
magnificent  urban  parks.  I  pointed  out  the  buildings  and 
parks  to  my  lady  companion  and  took  much  pleasure  in 
giving  her  brief  historical  sketches  of  several  of  them.  But 
even  Co-opolis,  with  all  its  artificial  beauty,  was  not  the 
greatest  object  of  interest.  The  valley  itself,  subjected  to 
the  most  thorough  cultivation  to  which  the  most  approved 
methods  could  reduce  it,  lay  before  us  "as  fair  as  the  garden 
of  the  gods  upon  the  slopes  of  Eden."  Directing  our  at 
tention  to  the  north  we  saw  the  silvery  expanse  of  Canyon 
Lake  glistening  in  the  sun.  Along  both  the  northern  and 
southern  slopes  of  the  valley  extended  the  finely  constructed 
ditches  and  flumes  conducting  the  waters  of  the  lake  to 
many  different  reservoirs,  where  they  were  stored  and  dis 
tributed  when  occasion  demanded. 

I  explained,  what  was  a  fact,  that  the  rainfall  in  this 
region  hid  increased  to  such  an  extent  since  the  valley  be 
came  inhabited  and  cultivated  that  for  two  years  the  sup 
ply  of  water  had  been  comparatively  little  used  in  irriga 
tion.  But  irrigation  assured  us  our  crops  and  there  was  no 
danger  that  a  drought  would  ever  destroy  them.  Eighty 
thousand  acres  constituted  our  cultivated  farm.  I  pointed 
out  the  apple,  peach  and  pear  orchards  and  vineyards  and 
spoke  of  the  promise  these  orchards  and  vineyards  gave  of 
a  large  supply  of  fruit  in  perhaps  another  year.  I  showed 
the  corn,  wheat  and  potato  fields,  the  vegetable  gardens  and 
the  extensive  hothouses,  and  explained  that  at  times  three 
thousand  members  of  our  Industrial  Army  were  engaged 
on  the  farm. 

We  could  also  see  the  numerous  sheds  constructed  in 
sheltered  places,  for  the  sheep  and  cattle  which  our  shep 
herds  and  herders  attended  on  the  ranges,  and  the  large 
barns  here  and  there  in  which  the  harvests  were  stored  and 
kept.  The  fields  and  ranges  had  produced  in  the  last  two 
years  an  enormous  surplus.  This  surplus,  however,  the 
Brotherhood  in  the  nation  had  taken  or  it  had  been  distrib 
uted  at  the  instance  of  the  Brotherhood  among  the  new 
colonies  which  it  had  established  throughout  the  state. 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  61 

My  companion  asked  me  the  wealth  of  the  colony,  and 
my  answer  was  that  its  buildings  could  not  be  constructed 
in  any  competitive  eastern  city  for  less  than  $15,000,000.00, 
but  that  they  probably  cost  an  amount  of  labor  estimated 
by  our  standards  at  $4,500,000.00.  The  80,000  acres  of 
land,  to  which  the  Association  had  title,  were  worth  $50.00 
per  acre  at  least,  or  $4,000,000.00.  The  personal  property, 
consisting  of  machinery,  stocks  of  goods,  sheep,  cattle, 
horses,  wagons,  tricycles,  bicycles,  motorcycles  and  farm 
products,  were  worth  $8,500,000.00  and  the  water  right, 
irrigating  ditches,  electric  railroads,  gas  and  electric  plants, 
water  system  for  the  city,  heating  system  and  public  utili 
ties  which  brought  or  could  be  made  to  bring  a  revenue, 
were  produced  by  the  labor  of  the  Industrial  Army,  without 
an  outlay  of  much  cash,  and  were  worth  at  least  $5,500,- 
000.00.  All  this  has  been  created  by  labor  in  five  years, 
and,  of  course,  the  value  of  the  city  lots  is  not  estimated. 

Yet  the  mere  fact  that  15,000  people  lived  on  these  lots 
was  sufficient  to  give  them  an  enormous  value  if  they  were 
to  be  sold  for  cash.  Indeed,  I  think  the  lots  in  the  city  at 
that  time  were  worth  $4,000,000.00  as  an  investment,  based 
upon  their  rental  values. 

We  continued  our  observation  of  the  valley  in  this  man 
ner  for  about  half  an  hour  and  then  rather  reluctantly 
moved  on.  The  day  was  spent  pleasantly,  in  fishing,  sail 
ing  and  picnicking.  There  was  at  the  lake  an  Association 
restaurant  where,  in  the  summer  time,  fish  dinners  were 
made  a  specialty.  Special  attention  was  given  to  supplying 
our  city  with  fresh  fish  and  a  large  fish  hatchery  was  also 
located  hero.  The  event  of  the  day,  however,  was  the  ob 
servation  of  the  scenery  from  the  divide  both  on  the  trip  to 
and  the  trip  from  the  lake,  for  we  again  stopped  on  our 
return  and  again  feasted  upon  that  vision  of  fertility  and 
abundance. 

When  we  arrived  home  that  evening  we  were  still  intent 
on  the  full  enjoyment  of  our  holiday,  and,  as  the  great 
French  trailed  ienno,  with  a  superb  company,  had  been  en 
gaged  for  the  week  by  the  Association,  we  went  to  the 


62  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

theater.  Here,  again,  Aunt  Lydia,  having  an  aversion  for 
theatrical  performances,  which  New  England  Congrega 
tionalism  had  instilled  into  her,  preferred  to  remain  at 
home,  and  I  was  once  more  obliged  to  accompany  my  new 
found  friend  Miss  Woodberry.  I  may  say,  however;  that 
whatever  my  aunt's  aversion  to  the  theater  may  have  been 
I  did  not  share  it  and  the  aversion  which  I  felt  in  the  morn 
ing  to  leaving  my  good,  old  aunt  at  home  was  not  so  keenly 
felt  in  the  evening. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    CAMPAIGN    OF    1902-DRIVING    CAPITAL  FROM     THE 
STATE— THE  POLITICAL   MINISTER -VICTORY. 

The  political  campaign  of  1902  in  Idaho  was  one  of  the 
most  notable  ever  waged  in  the  United  States.  It  was  in 
teresting  to  the  entire  country  because  it  was  understood 
that  if  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth  was  victorious  the 
changes  which  would  be  effected  in  the  government,  laws 
and  industrial  system  of  the  state  would  be  radical  and 
sweeping.  The  moneyed  interests  all  over  the  country  were 
alarmed,  but  it  may  be  said  that  in  those  times  the  "mon 
eyed  interests"  were  always  in  a  state  of  alarm  at  every 
suggestion  of  a  reform  which  proposed  the  betterment  of 
the  condition  of  the  masses. 

As  a  result  of  this  "alarm"  a  system  of  colonization  in 
Idaho  was  begun  with  a  view  to  outvoting  the  co-operators 
on  election  day.  But  the  extent  of  the  Brotherhood  of  the 
Co-operative  Comonwealth  was  little  understood  by  the 
business  and  moneyed  interests  of  the  nation.  They  sup 
posed  it  to  be  practically  confined  to  Idaho  when  in  truth  it 
had  its  branches  throughout  the  entire  country. .  The  effort 
to  colonize  voters  in  Idaho  was  rendered  abortive  except  in 
the  mining  regions  of  the  northern  part  of  the  state,,  and 
even  there  the  colonizers  were  not  as  successful  as  they  sup 
posed.  The  Brotherhood,  secretly  giving  the  .most  useful 
aid  to  co-operators,  caused  many  ardent  friends  to  be  en 
listed  as  colonists  of  the  enemy,  and  these,  immediately  on 
arrival  in  Idaho,  communicated  with  our  leaders  and  we 
were  kept  constantly  informed  as  to  the  movements  of  the 
opposition. 

The  Brotherhood  numbered  one  million  members  out 
side  of  Idaho  and  if  we  had  asked  them  to  contribute  to  our 
financial  strength  they  could  and  would  have  sent  us  from 


64  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

one  to  five  million  dollars.  This,  however,  was  deemed 
unnecessary,  and  we  confined  our  expenditures  to  the  edu 
cation  of  the  masses  with  regard  to  our  purposes,  and  the 
prevention  of  the  gross  frauds  which  we  expected  the  oppo 
sition  to  perpetrate.  Great  speakers  of  national  fame  were 
sent  from  all  parts  of  the  country  to  discuss  the  issues  of 
this  campaign.  Competition  and  co-operation  had  here 
locked  horns  and  this  tremendous  issue  was  to  be  fought 
out  once  for  all. 

The  principal  argument  made  by  the  opposition  was  that 
the  success  of  co-operation,  besides  destroying  personal  lib 
erty,  would  drive  out  all  the  capital  in  the  state,  and  all  the 
capital  approaching  the  state  away  from  it.  To  this  posi 
tion,  which  was  depicted  on  every  opposition  stump,  our 
great  leader,  President  Thompson,  always  made  but  one 
reply. 

"Driv^e  capital  from  the  state!"  exclaimed  he.  "Prevent 
its  entrance!  Why!  Let  them  take  every  dollar  of  gold 
and  silver  and  every  item  of  what  they  call  credit  away  for 
ever.  Let  them  leave  us  the  land  and  ability  to  labor  and 
we  will  speedily  reverse  the  order.  Instead  of  Idaho  being 
a  suppliant  at  the  door  of  capital,  we  shall  soon  see  capital, 
so  boastful  and  arrogant  now,  an  abject  suppliant  at  the 
door  of  Idaho. 

"Instead  of  capital  directing  industry  we  shall  find  indus 
try  directing  and  controlling  capital.  But  how  will  they 
withdraw  capital?  Will  they  fill  up  the  mines  they 
have  dug?  Will  they  tear  up  the  rails  they  have  laid?  WilJ 
they  stop  their  trains  on  the  boundary  line  or  rush  through 
without  stopping?  -Will  they  transport  the  houses  and 
farms  on  which  they  hold  mortgages?  They  can,  of  course, 
do  none  of  these  things,  nor  do  they  contemplate  it.  But 
they  say  we  intend  to  repudiate  our  indebtedness  to  them. 
In  the  great  record  of  the  Omniscient  Lawgiver,  in  which 
the  list  of  those  moral  obligations  which  ought  to  be  kept 
are  found,  it  is  not  probable  that  all  the  debts  of  the  people 
are  numbered,  but  into  that  we  shall  never  inquire.  All 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  65 

moral  and  legal  obligations  which  rest  upon  it  shall  be 
strictly  and  fully  paid." 

The  fight  waxed  warmer  as  election  day  approached. 
Every  effort  was  made  to  stir  up  the  basest  passions  against 
the  Co-operative  Common  wealth.  We  hoard  of  a  riot  and 
what  amounted  almost  to  a*  pitched  battle  in  the  mining- 
regions  of  the  Coeur  d'Alene  Mountains,  and  learned,  to 
our  surprise,  that  we  had  a  large  number  of  adherents 
among  the  Trade  Unionists  and  the  Miners'  Unions  of  that 
section.  An  equally  great  surprise  was  that,  although  our 
movement  was  in  no  sense  hostile  to  any  church,  and  as  a 
matter  of  fact  encouraged  all  religious  denominations  in 
their  work,  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  were,  as  a  rule, 
among  our  most  bitter  opponents  and,  excepting  those  who 
presided  over  co-operators  of  their  own  denominations, 
they  were  disposed  to  denounce  us  as  opposed  to  morals. 
I  regret  to  say  that  from  this  class  of  campaign  speakers 
and  political  workers  came  the  most  outrageous  misrepre 
sentations  of  the  campaign. 

I  beg  to  be  understood  aright.  I  make  no  charge  against 
the  church,  or  against  ministers.  God  knows  that  I  have 
the  highest  regard  for  both,  but  I  have  noticed  not  only  in 
connection  with  the  campaign  of  1902  but  other  great  cam 
paigns  before  and  since  that  when  they  step  out  of  their 
true  sphere  into  politics  these  amiable,  innocent  and  es 
timable  gentlemen  generally  become  the  catspaws  of  the 
most  unscrupulous  political  monkeys.  They  are  undeni 
ably  caught  by  men  who  make  the  loudest  professions  of 
honesty,  justice  and  virtue,  when  in  truth  those  who  pro 
claim  their  merits  in  these  regards  with  the  greatest  vigor 
are  not  necessarily  the  most  sincere  or  deserving.  Vigor  of 
tongue  does  not  always  indicate  a  healthy  conscience,  but 
it  generally  catches  the  political  minister. 

The  day  before  election  Thompson  and  I  met  at  the  Co- 
opolitan.  The  work  of  the  campaign  was  now  practically 
completed  as  far  as  speaking  was  concerned.  Thompson 
had  certainly  done  his  duty,  for  he  had  spoken  in  every 
county  seat  and  every  considerable  town  in  the  state. 


66  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

Everywhere  he  had  been  welcomed  by  great  crowds  and 
everywhere  it  had  been  acknowledged  that  he  was  a  man 
of  commanding  genius.  Indeed,  all  this  was  conceded  by 
the  newspaper  press  throughout  the  Union.  But  he  told 
me  confidentially  that  he  did  not  trust  the  appearances 
which  seemed  so  nattering  and  cited  several  instances  to 
show  the  uncertainty  of  political  events.  I  was  a  younger 
man  and  my  enthusiasm  caused  me  to  entertain  no  doubt 
of  the  complete  success  of  our  entire  programme. 

Election  clay  passed  off  without  incident.  The  vote  was 
heavy.  Every  woman  of  voting  age,  as  well  as  every  man, 
voted,  and  the  vote  cast  was  more  than  twice  as  large  as  the 
state  had  ever  cast  in  any  previous  election,  the  grand  total 
being  190,000.  Of  these  our  ticket  received  115,000,  giving 
us  a  majority  of  40,000.  We  had  elected  more  than  two- 
thirds  o^  both  houses  of  the  legislature  and  the  victory  for 
the  Co-operative  Commonwealth  was  complete. 

How  we  shouted,  and  went  nearly  mad  with  joy  in  Co- 
opolis.  The  total  vote  of  our  city,  numbering  6,661,  had 
been  cast  for  the  entire  ticket.  I  have  not  mentioned  the 
fact  that  in  the  distribution  of  political  honors  I  had  re 
ceived  the  nomination,  equivalent  to  election,  for  state  sen 
ator,  and  I  may  now  say  that  I  was  unanimously  elected. 

I  did  not  vote  for  myself. 

I  was  the  only  candidate.  When  the  result  of  the  elec 
tion  was  known  we  appointed  the  following  evening  for  a 
grand  jollification.  It  was  an  occasion  to  be  remembered. 
The  army,  7,000  strong,  not  all  residents  of  Co-opolis,  as 
some  were  permanently  stationed  in  the  country,  marched 
through  the  streets,  with  music  furnished  by  the  city  band. 
This  band  consisted  of  one  hundred  first-class  musicians, 
and  was  one  of  the  best  in  the  entire  western  country. 
There  were  other  amateur  bands  which  were  drilled  to  a 
high  degree  of  excellence,  and  the  army  marched  to  such 
music.  There  was  a  grand  illumination  in  the  evening,  and 
a  magnificent  display  of  fireworks. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  BROTHERHOOD  CONVEYS  ITS  IDAHO  POSSESSIONS 
TO  THE  CO  -  OPOLITAN  ASSOCIATION  —  ARRANGE 
MENTS  FOR  COLONISTS  —  TYPICAL  INSTANCES  — 
JARVIS  RICHARDSON— MRS.  ELIZABETH  MAXON. 

The  National  Brotherhood  of  the  Co-operative  Common- 
.wealth  had  prior  to  the  election  of  1902,  in  a  delegate  con 
vention  held  in  Chicago.,  passed  a  resolution  approving  the 
Co-opolitan  system  of  co-operation  and  directing  that  all 
colonies  and  colonists  entering  Idaho,  under  its  auspices, 
after  January  1st,  1903,  enter  and  become  merged  in  Col 
ony  Number  One,  as  Co-opolis  was  named  in  the  Brother 
hood  records.  It  also  transferred  all  its  property,  including 
the  beet-sugar  factory  at  Laselle,  a  gold  mine  at  Banford, 
in  the  Coeur  d'Alene  Mountains,  and  several  large  tracts 
of  land  and  small  colonies  to  us,  upon  the  theory  that  we 
were  better  able  to  superintend  the  details  of  state  building, 
while  the  Brotherhood  should  simply  aid  us  with  funds  to 
extend  our  good  works,  furnish  us  with  colonists  and  dis 
tribute  our  surplus  product. 

Our  Legislation  Council,  anticipating  large  accessions  to 
our  population  on  this  account,  was  in  constant  session  and 
during  the  entire  winter  of  1902-3  large  plans  wrere  under 
consideration  for  the  utilization  of  the  new  labor  power. 
The  National  Brotherhood  had  contracted  not  to  send  us 
more  than  10,000  new  members  during  the  year  1903  and 
to  pay  us  $1,000,000.00  cash  or  one  hundred  dollars  for 
each  person  sent  for  our  surplus  products  stored  in  various 
barns  and  storehouses. 

It  was  not  considered  that  these  new  colonists  should  all 
remain  in  Co-opolis.  About  two  thousand  of  them  were  to 
be  retained  in  certain  productive  lines  in  which  we  were 


68  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

already  prepared  to  set  them  at  work.  One  of  these  was  a 
large  woolen  mill  located  down  the  stream  toward  Snake 
Kiver,  capable  of  employing  one  thousand  hands.  We  had 
a  large  quantity  of  wool  on  hand,  and  were  ready  to  take  all 
which  was  offered  in  exchange  for  goods  at  the  department 
store.  It  was  also  agreed  between  the  National  Brother 
hood  and  our  council  that  they  should  send  us  one  thou 
sand  persons  skilled  in  the  manufacture  of  woolen  fabrics. 
These  we  agreed  to  receive  on  equal  terms  with  all  other 
members.  We  also  arranged  for  the  establishment  of  a 
large  boot  and  shoe  factory,  an  extensive  fruit  and  vege 
table  canning  factory,  and  another  one  still  for  the  slaugh 
tering,  dressing,  preparing  and  packing  of  pork,  beef  and 
other  meats.  The  slaughter  houses  were  designed  to  be 
situated  about  six  miles  from  Co-opolis  over  the  divide  on 
the  Seven  Devils  branch  of  the  Oregon  Short  Line.  These 
skilled  artisans  numbered  in  all  about  three  thousand.  The 
rest,  consisting  of  six  thousand  adults,  were  to  enter  the 
Industrial  Army  as  common  workers. 

We  estimated  that  we  could  employ  this  new  industrial 
army  in  opening  up  another  large  valley  in  the  same 
county  fifteen  miles  south  of  Co-opolis.  That  valley  was  in 
nearly  all  respects  similar  to  Deer  Valley,  except  that  it  was 
larger  and  ihe  divides  and  tables  were  covered  with  a  thick 
growth  of  timber.  We  considered  that  it  was  proper  to  re 
tain  about  half  of  the  seven  thousand  new  men  to  work  in 
and  about  Co-opolis  and  to  send  an  equal  number  of  our 
older  members  to  the  new  fields.  The  plan  was,  first  of  all, 
to  provide  irrigation;  second,  to  break  thirty  thousand  acres 
of  land  and  seed  it  to  corn;  third,  to  construct  buildings 
sufficiently  commodious  to  house  the  companies  of  the 
Industrial  Army  which  might  be  necessary  to  make  the 
valley  productive  and  protect  its  structures  and  products 
from  destruction.  It  was  then  intended  to  be  a  sort  of  an 
industrial  outpost  for  Co-opolis,  and  was  placed  in  charge 
of  the  Agricultural  department. 

When  the  new  colonists  began  to  arrive  in  large  numbers 
the  scene  presented  in  the  main  hall  of  the  building  was 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  69 

interesting.  The  department  chiefs  took  turns  presiding 
at  the  hearing  of  applications  for  membership.  I  remember 
very  well  my  own  experience  one  day  the  latter  part  of 
January.  I  had  obtained  .a  temporary  leave  of  absence 
from  the  senate  in  order  to  assume  the  duties  as  chief  of 
my  department.  There  were  eight  hundred  newcomers, 
men  and  women.  Each  was  sworn  to  answer  truly  all  ques 
tions  put  touching  his  or  her  age,  education,  trade  or  call 
ing,  nationality,  former  place  of  residence,  family  and  ca 
reer.  His  application,  together  with  certificates  of  medical 
examiners,  was  examined  and  if  approved  by  the  National 
Brotherhood  the  following  contract  was  handed  him  for  his 
signature:  "It  is  hereby  agreed  by  and  between  Peter 
Jones,  party  of  the  first  part,  and  Colony  Number  One  of 
the  Co-operative  Commonwealth  known  as  the  Co-opolitan 
Association,  party  of  the  second  part,  that  in  consideration 
of  the  promises,  agreements  and  undertakings  hereinafter 
set  forth,  said  first  party  enters  the  employ  of  said  second 
party  as  a  laborer  for  the  term  of  three  years.  That  he 
agrees  to  do  and  perform  any  and  all  work  which  said  sec 
ond  party  shall  require  of  him  in  any  part  of  the  state  of 
Idaho  to  the  best  of  his  ability.  That  he  agrees  to  conform 
to  all  the  rules,  regulations  and  laws  which  are  now  in  force 
or  shall  become  in  force  in  or  in  connection  with  said 
colony,  provided  the  same  do  not  impair  the  obligation 
hereof.  Said  second  party  agrees  to  pay  said  first  party 
for  said  service  in  the  products  of  labor  on  hand  or  obtain 
able  by  said  second  party,  an  amount  equal  to  forty  per  cent 
of  the  yearly  product  of  the  labor  of  said  colony  divided  by 
the  total  number  of  members  of  said  colony  above  the  age 
of  twenty  years,  less  fines  and  forfeitures,  the  same  to  be 
paid  in  such  amounts,  and  at  such  times,  within  each  year, 
as  shall  be  provided  by  the  Legislative  Council  of  said  sec 
ond  party." 

The  examination  to  which  applicants  were  subjected  is 
well  illustrated  by  the  record  of  one  who  has  since  become 
one  of  the  famous  Industrial  chiefs  of  the  state. 

"\Vhat  is  your  name,  age,  occupation  and  place  of  resi- 


70  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

dence?"  asked  I  of  a  medium-sized  man  with  a  strong, 
square  face,  and  a  large  forehead,  who  arose  and  held  up  his 
right  hand  to  take  the  oath. 

"Name,  Jarvis  Richardson..  Age,  thirty  years.  Occu 
pation,  printer.  Former  residence,  St.  Paul,  Minnesota." 

"Name  of  former  employer  and  when  last  employed." 

"Pioneer  Press  Publishing  Company.  Was  laid  off  three 
years  ago." 

"Reason  for  discharge?" 

"Improved  typesetting  machines." 

"Do  you  understand  and  favor  co-operation,  or  are  you 
desirous  of  entering  the  Brotherhood  for  temporary  protec 
tion?" 

"I  believe  I  understand  the  principle  and  purpose  of  co 
operation.  Having  been  excluded  from  usefulness  in  my 
own  trade  by  the  introduction  of  labor-saving  devices,  I 
realize  that  an  injustice  has  been  done  me.  I  should  have 
had  the  benefit  of  the  labor-saving  device,  but  instead  of 
that  I  am  simply  supplanted  by  an  automaton.  The  ma 
chine  which  excluded  me  from  my  place  and  has  kept  me 
comparatively  idle  ever  since  does  the  work  which  it  for 
merly  took  five  men  to  do.  If  the  same  results  were  accom 
plished,  as  it  ultimately  will  be,  in  all  departments  four- 
fifths  of  the  labor  of  human  beings  would  be  thrown  aside 
and  four-fifths  of  the  laborers  would  starve.  This  would 
curtail  the  consumption  of  products  of  such  machinery,  and 
a  portion  of  those  who  operate  them  would  then  be  dis 
charged  on  the  plea  of  hard  times,  limited  demand  and 
overproduction. 

"The  industrial  system  now  in  operation  throughout  the 
Christian  world  was  devised  for  an  ignorant  and  barbarous 
people.  Invention,  learning,  industry  and  progress  are 
showing  its  entire  inefficiency.  Learning  must  be  limited  to 
a  few  if  that  system  is  to  live.  Under  it, if  industry  produces 
enough  for  all,  stagnation  results,  because  that  system 
makes  no  provision  for  wise  and  equitable  distribution. 
Progress  is  impossible  because  it  strains  society  to  a  point 
of  revolution  and  destruction  follows.  The  co-operative 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  71 

system,  on  the  contrary,  deems  labor-saving  machinery  a 
blessing,  and  its  adoption  simply  increases  production  and 
is  a  relief  and  benefit  to  the  laborer.  It  does  not  diminish 
his  share  of  the  product,  but  reduces  his  hours  of  labor. 
You  cannot  have  too  much  education  and  learning  in  the 
co-operative  system  because  all  are  educated,  and  yet  each 
is  required  to  submit  to  his  share  of  labor  and  drudging. 
This  tends  to  destroy  false  pride,  and  prevent  vanity. 
Moreover,  men  come  to  realize  their  true  relation  to  one 
another. 

"Industry  can  never  cause  overproduction  in  the  co 
operative  system.  If  too  much  is  produced  for  the  members 
to  consume  they  do  not  therefore  find  it  necessary  to  starve 
a  portion  of  their  number.  Such  a  condition  is  hurtful  to 
none.  The  co-operative  system  demands  progress.  Every 
step  forward  brings  a  reward  and  does  not  suggest  a  danger. 
Every  advance  is  a  blessing  not  to  a  few,  but  to  all.  A 
system  which  is  large  enough,  just  enough  and  expansive 
enough  to  admit  of  the  unfoldment  of  all  the  powers  and 
virtues  of  the  race  cannot  be  less  than  Christian." 

The  manner  of  the  applicant  as  he  expressed  himself  was 
that  of  a  polished  and  educated  gentleman.  It  was  not  cus 
tomary  for  us  to  encourage  lengthy  speeches  on  the  part  of 
applicants,  during  the  year  1903  nor  the  years  following, 
but  once  in  a  while  a  man  of  commanding  will  and  intellect 
would  challenge  our  attention  and  we  would  listen  to  him 
as  I  did  to  Mr.  Richardson.  He  was  a  sufferer  from  one 
cause,  and  understood  the  cause  and  its  only  cure  far  better 
than  a  philosopher  who  only  observes  and  could  not  feel 
the  condition  it  imposed  on  him. 

"It  is  claimed  that-the  individual  is  weakened  and  made 
dependent  by  our  system,  Mr.  Richardson,"  said  I.  "The 
claim  is  also  made  that  the  man  who  escapes  the  perils  of 
the  industrial  system  comes  out  with  a  stronger  character 
and  a  more  independent  manhood  than  if  such  perils  had 
not  been  encountered.  Have  you  a  different  opinion?" 

"I  do  not  know,"  was  the  reply,  "how  great  a  manhood 
your  system  will  develop.  It  teaches,  however,  the  lesson  of 


72  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

brotherhood,  and  gives  me  protection  for  my  wife  and 
babies  by  furnishing  me  an  opportunity  to  be  industrious. 
The  competitive  system  might  not  be  objectionable  if  it 
would  do  the  same.  But  it  does  not  permit  fair  competi 
tion.  It  demands  that  a  man  be  industrious,  but  gives  him 
no  chance  to  work.  It  permits  a  few  to  monopolize  land, 
water,  power,  money  and  all  the  sources,  means  and  ma 
chinery  of  production,  and  then  asks  the  disinherited  and 
landless  ones  to  compete  when  competition  is  impossible. 

"The  s}^stem  called  competitive  is  not  competitive.  It 
is  a  system  whereby  a  favored  few  are  permitted  to  rob  the 
many.  As  for  the  perils  of  that  system  developing  char 
acter,  I  admit  they  do.  The  most  remarkable  character  and 
those  most  admired  in  it  are  the  modern  Shylocks.  If  that 
sort  of  character  is  desirable,  then  the  system  is  a  success, 
but  I  do  not  covet  its  benefits.  It  seems  to  me  the  perils  of 
savagery  are  much  more  effective  to  bring  out  strong  traits 
of  character  and  build  up  a  manhood  more  courageous,  self- 
reliant,  and  even  heroic,  certainly  not  more  brutal,  than 
the  trading,  cozzening,  cheating,  gambling,  sordid  methods 
which  make  up  this  so-called  'Competitive  System.'  r 

It  was  not  possible  for  me  in  the  press  of  business  to  con 
tinue  the  conversation  further  that  day.  Indeed,  the  argu 
ments  offered  by  the  applicant  were  not  new  to  me,  and  it 
was  only  because  of  the  strong  individuality  of  the  man  that 
I  stopped  to  converse  with  him  at  all.  It  was,  however,  a 
part  of  my  business  to  investigate  the  qualifications  of  ap 
plicants  and  when  they  had  been  accepted  to  enroll  them 
in  the  proper  department.  Each  department  had  its  en 
rolling  clerk  present,  who  received  the  signature  of  the  new 
member  in  the  department  to  which  he  was  assigned.  A 
few  formal  questions  more  were  put  to  Mr.  Richardson  and 
I  assigned  him  to  the  Messenger  and  Publishing  depart 
ment,  where  a  vacancy  had  occurred  within  a  week  by  the 
death  of  a  trusted  member. 

He  of  course  entered  as  a  mere  printer,  being  compelled 
to  earn  promotion  by  the  efficiency  of  his  work. 

The  examination  and  acceptance  of  applicants  went  on 


THE   CO-OPOLITAN. 

with  great  rapidity  after  this,  and  no  incident  occurred 
worthy  of  note  until  after  the  noon  lunch.  A  woman  about 
thirty-six  years  old  presented  her  application.  After  the 
usual  formal  questions  I  asked: 

"Are  you  married?" 

"I  am  a  widow,"  she  answered;  "my  husband  was  killed 
in  a  railroad  collision  five  years  ago." 

"Have  you  children?" 

"I  have  seven — three  bo}:s  and  four  girls." 

"Have  you  them  with  you?" 

"All  are  here.  Mr.  Thompson  advised  me  to  come  and 
make  this  application,  so  I  have  been  saving  up  all  my 
money  ancfr  J  am  here." 

"You  say  you  live  in  Boise?  You  are  not  recommended 
by  the  Brotherhood.  Have  you  any  recommendations?" 

"I  have  one  from  Mr.  Thompson."  Here  she  handed  me 
a  note  from  our  President,  now  Governor  of  the  state,  and 
upon  reading  it  I  found  that  she  was  an  intelligent  and 
deserving  woman  who  was  anxious  to  educate  her  children. 
She  had  saved,  through  several  years'  hard  work  at  the 
washtub  and  in  various  kinds  of  domestic  work,  the  fee 
necessary  to  enter  the  colony,  and,  although  it  was  her  all, 
she  was  ready  to  pay  it  for  such  a  purpose. 

"What  shall  I  do  for  a  home?"  she  asked. 

"We  have  excellent  houses,  in  one  of  which  you  shall 
live,"  I  replied. 

"Can  I  send  my  children  to  school?"  she  continued. 

"You  are  required  to  do  so.  Education  is  compulsory. 
Yrour  children  will  be  turned  over  to  the  Department  of 
Education." 

"Am  I  to  be  separated  from  them?" 

"You  and  they  will  live  together  in  the  same  house." 

"But  I  am  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church.  I  desire 
my  children  brought  up  in  that  church." 

"The  religious  education  of  your  children  is  your  own 
care.  Send  them  to  what  church  you  will.  Episcopal, 
Methodist,  Baptist,  Catholic,  Congregationalist  and  other 
denominations  are  represented  here." 


74  THE   CO-OPOLITAN. 

"Would  it  be  wrong  for  me  to  ask  how  much  my  wages 
are  to  be?" 

"You  will  receive  checks  or  orders  the  first  year  entitling 
you  to  one-third  as  much  as  a  skilled  first-year  member. 
.The  second  year  you  will  receive  as  much  as  any  other  mem 
ber  of  the  Industrial  Army,,  skilled  or  unskilled,  officer  or 
private.  Last  year  each  member  received  $1,200.00  in  or 
ders  or  checks  entitling  him  to  the  use  of  public  convey 
ances,  railroads,  house,  •  water,  gas,  light,  heat  and  other 
public  utility,  to  goods,  wares  and  merchandise,  meals  at 
restaurant  or  hotel,  to  admission  to  entertainments,  use  of 
public  ovens,  and,  in  short,  whatever  you  need.  If  your 
children  are  infants  the  Department  of  Education  has 
trained  nurses  to  care  for  them.  If  a  mother  is  nursing  her 
babe  we  give  her  a  furlough  until  the  period  of  nursing 
ceases,  but  her  pay  continues.  We  encourage  the  mother 
to  be  with  her  children  as  much  as  possible,  as  we  believe  a 
mother's  love  is  one  of  the  influences,  under  proper  condi 
tions,  which  inspire  purity  and  develop  manhood  and 
womanhood  in  the  child." 

"But  if  I  must  work  I  cannot'  care  for  my  children  and 
get  them  ready  for  school  in  the  morning." 

"Women  who  have  children  are  placed,  as  far  as  possible, 
in  companies  which  do  their  work  during  what  are  called 
school  hours.  You  will  be  assigned  to  the  Domestic  de 
partment  and  its  officers  will  place  you  where  you  belong. 
You  will  go  to  your  work  at  9  o'clock  and  continue  until 
12.  You  will  then  take  an  hour  for  your  own  lunch  and 
returning  to  work  continue  until  5." 

I  felt  great  satisfaction  at  being  able  to  give  this  poor 
woman  information  which  restored  almost  immediately  the 
light  of  hope  to  her  careworn  face.  She  only  asked  one 
more  question.  She  wanted  to  know  what  would  become  of 
her  children  in  case  she  should  die,  and  when  I  told  her 
that  children  who  once  entered  our  Department  of  Educa 
tion  were  always  protected,  clothed  and  supported,  without 
the  slightest  dishonor,  by  the  Association  and  afterward 
ontered  our  Industrial  Army  on  equal  terms  with  all  others,' 


THE   CO-OPOLITAN.  75 

she  seemed  so  happy  that  the  bystanders  wept  and  I  felt  my 
own  eyes  grow  moist. 

Several  days  after  this,  being  anxious  to  learn  the  fate  of 
this  woman,  whose  name  was  recorded  as  Elizabeth  Maxon, 
I  entered,  inquired  at  the  office  of  the  Domestic  depart 
ment,  where  she  was  enrolled,  and  learned  that  she  had 
been  assigned  by  her  department  chief  to  laundry  work 
and  that  her  place  of  residence  was  number  800  Pine  Street. 
I  took  occasion  to  call  there.  Upon  my  ringing  the  electric 
bell  the  door  was  opened  by  a  bright-faced  little- girl  of 
about  fifteen  summers. 

"Is  your  mother  at  home?"  I  asked. 

"Yes,"  was  the  reply.    "Will  you  come  in?" 

She  ushered  me  through  a  small  carpeted  hallway,  into  a 
neatly  furnished  parlor,  the  floor  of  which  was  also  car 
peted,  and  the  furniture  in  which  appeared  to  be  quite  new. 
Having  been  politely  offered  a  chair,  I  sat  down,  and  being 
informed  that  "mamma"  wold  be  in  directly  I  waited.  A 
minute  later  Mrs.  Maxon  appeared. 

"Mrs.  Maxon,"  I  said,  arising,  "you  will  doubtless  look 
upon  my  visit  as  an  intrusion,  but  I  felt  so  deep  an  interest 
in  your  welfare,  after  your  application  and  examination  for 
membership,  that  I  had  to  hunt  you  up.  Perhaps  you  will 
remember  me  as  the  man  who  presided  at  that  time. 

"Indeed!"  she  exclaimed.  "Mr.  Braden,  certainly  this  is 
an  honor  and  not  an  intrusion.  You  were  so  kind  to  me 
on  that  occasion  that  I  shall  never  forget  you.  Will  you  be 
seated,  sir?" 

I  sat  down  again.    Mrs.  Maxon  also  seated  herself. 

"I  would  'be  glad  to  learn  how  you  fared,"  I  resumed. 
"Will  you  permit  me  to  ask  you  a  few  questions?" 

"Yes,  indeed!"  was  the  quick  answer.  "I  will  answer 
any  question.  The  people  are  so  good  to  me  here  that  I  feel 
that  you  are  all  brothers  and  sisters.  And  see,"  (she  waved 
her  hand  around  her),  "I  have  never  lived  in  such  a  pleasant 
house  before.  It  is  heated  by  steam  which  comes  from 
pipes  laid  under  the  streets  and  we  have  water,  gas  and 
electricity." 


76  THE   CO-OPOLITAN. 

"Do  you  like  your  work?" 

"It  is  very  pleasant.  Most  of  the  work  at  the  laundry  is 
clone  by  machinery  and  the  machinery  does  five  times  as 
much  work  as  the  force  we  have  there  could  do  by  hand. 
All  the  hard  work  is  done  by  machinery.  Then  I  have  only 
to  work  seven  hours  a  day,  too." 

"How  did  you  get  so  well  settled?" 

"The  next  day  after  ,the  examination  I  was  told  to  go  tc 
the  office  of  the  Domestic  department  on  Commonwealth 
Avenue.  I  went.  The  gentleman  in  charge  told  me  that 
when  an  active  member  paid  a  membership  fee  of  $100.00 
the  company  gave  a  labor  check  to  her  in  return  represent 
ing  $100.00  worth  of  goods.  He  gave  me  the  amount  in 
such  check  and  then  directed  a  gentleman  to  take  me  and 
my  children  to  number  800  Pine  Street,  where  we  should 
live.  He  hailed  a  passing  motor  car  and  we  got  on  that  and 
rode  to  this  house,  my  children  with  me.  The  gentleman 
did  not  pay  my  fare,  but  I  paid  it. 

"I  was  surprised  that  it  only  amounted  to  what  would  be 
two  cents  of  my  hundred  dollars.  I  was  quite  surprised 
also  to  find  that  we  were  to  have  such  a.  nice  house.  But 
there  was  no  furniture  in  it  then.  I  left  my  children  with 
our  neighbor,  and  went  up  to  the  department  house  and 
ordered  these  carpets,  furniture  and  other  things.  They 
let  me  have  them  on  time,  with  the  understanding  that  they 
were  to  keep  the  title  until  they  were  paid  for.  I  got  a  few 
groceries  from  the  store  and  some  meat  and  brought  them 
home  myself.  The  furniture  came  about  2  o'clock  that 
afternoon  and  before  supper  time  we  were  almost  settled. 
A  bell  rang  out  there  in  the  dining  room  and  I  found  a  tele 
phone  there.  I  answered  it  and  found  that  the  foreman  of 
the  company  which  I  was  told  to  enter  had  some  directions. 
He  sa^d  I  was  to  go  over  to  the  ward  office  of  the  Depart 
ment  of  Education,  about  two  blocks  from  here,  and  report 
with  my  children  at  9  o'clock  next  morning  and  then  to 
report  to  him  at  9:30  o'clock  for  duty.  So  I  did.  and  all  my 
little  ones  were  taken  and  sent  to  school." 

"Are  you  then  comfortable  ?" 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  77 

"1  am  very,  very  happy.  I  never  dreamed  that  such  good 
would  come  to  me  after  my  husband  died.  But  God  has 
directed  me  here  and  I  am  very,  very  happy." 

The  conversation  continued  a  few  minutes  longer.  All 
her  little  children,  with  bright  and  shining  faces,  came  in 
to  see  me,  and  I  was  overflowing  with  sympathetic  en 
thusiasm  myself  before  I  was  able  to  tear  myself  away. 
And  I  thought  to  myself  as  I  returned  to  my  home  that  the 
joy  our  system  brought  to  these  comparatively  humble  peo 
ple  was  the  best  indication  that  we  were  now,  in  truth,  upon 
the  threshold  of  a  higher  civilization;  a  civilization  that 
uses  all  power,  both  mechanical  and  human,  to  lift  up  all 
humanity;  a  civilization  which  does  not  content  itself  by 
simply  emblazoning  the  golden  rule  upon  painted  banners 
and  church  walls,  but  makes  it  the  measure  of  every  public 
act  toward  all  men,  women  and  children  alike. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

IDAHO  ELECTS  A  SENATOR— PARALYSIS  OF  THE  COMPET 
ITIVE  SYSTEM— BLIGHT  AFFECTS  THE  CAPITAL  CITY- 
CAPITAL  WITHDRAWS  FROM  THE  STATE— A  SESSION 
OF  THE  LEGISLATURE— CO-OPOLIS  ESTABLISHES  A  DE 
PARTMENT  STORE  AND  HOTEL  AT  BOISE  CITY. 

Governor  Thompson  was  inaugurated  at  Boise  City  Jan 
uary,  1903.  There  was  no  demonstration  on  the  occasion, 
the  Governor  being  sworn  in  by  the  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  court  of  the  state  without  display.  The  Legisla 
ture  convened  t;he  same  day,  the  Lower  House  elected  its 
speaker,  and  the  next  day  the  various  committees  of  both 
branches  of  the  lawmaking  body  were  appointed.  The 
third  day  the  entire  political  machinery  of  Idaho,  with  the 
exception  of  some  minor  officers  and  some  members  of  the 
judiciary,  was  under  the  control  of  the  Co-operators. 

The  work  to  be  performed  by  the  Legislature  was  re 
garded  as  pressing  and  important.  A  senator  was  to  be 
elected  to  represent  the  state  in  the  United  States  senate. 
The  complexion  of  the  two  houses  made  it  certain  that  the 
new  senator  would  be  a  Co-operator.  As  for  that  matter  so 
was  the  then  incumbent.  He  was  a  member  of  the  People's 
party  and  also  a  member  of  the  Brotherhood  and  of  the  Co- 
opolitan  colony.  He  was  a  man  of  wealth  and,  being  past 
the  age  of  forty-five,  had  transferred  property  to  our  colony 
worth  twenty  years  of  a  Co-operator's  income,  estimated 
upon  the  basis  of  such  income  January  1st,  1902.  In  addi 
tion  to  this,  his  assistance  as  senator  from  Idaho  had  been 
invaluable  to  our  cause.  When  a  man  became  a  member,  in 
this  manner,  the  Association,  while  leaving  him  his  own 
property  and  the  income  which  he  derived  from  it,  re 
quired  that  all  wages,  salaries  and  compensation,  which  his 
skill,  labor  or  use  of  time  might  earn  should  be  the  property 
of  the  Association,  so  that  the  senator's  yearly  salary  be- 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  79 

longed  to  it.  We  took  but  one  vote  on  the  senatorial  ques- 
tioA,  and  the  sitting  senator  was  by  that  vote  elected  to 
succeed  himself. 

But  this  Legislature  had  some  really  serious  questions  to 
consider  besides  that  of  electing  a  senator.  It  was  con 
fronted  by  a  condition  which  to  all  individuals  in  the  state 
seemed  appalling.  The  public,  outside  of  the  co-operative 
colonies  in  the  state,  and  outside  the  Brotherhood  of  the 
Co-operative  Commonwealth  out  of  the  state,  was  filled 
with  alarm  at  the  prospect  of  certain  radical  reforms  being 
initiated. 

The  election  of  Governor  Thompson  and  a  co-operative 
Legislature  was  the  signal  for  all  banks,  competitive  busi 
ness  houses  and  money  loaners  to  draw  in  their  loans  and 
investments,  as  far  as  possible,  and  many  of  those  who  were 
engaged  in  the  various  lines  mentioned  proposed  to  depart 
from  the  state.  In  such  cities  as  Boise  City,  Shoshone, 
Ketchem  and  a  few  others  of  like  description  the  saloon 
men  and  money  loaners  endeavored  to  sell  out  and  leave  the 
state  at  once. 

The  banks  refused  to  make  any  new  loans  and  insisted 
upon  the  immediate  payment  of  such  indebtedness  as  was 
then  due.  The  railroad  companies  began  a  course  of  dis 
crimination  against  the  people  of  the  state  and  business 
houses  reduced  their  stocks  of  goods.  Money,  gold,  silver 
and  paper,  became  very  scarce. 

Boise  City,  the  capital,  before  January  1st  was  in  a  con 
dition  of  business  paralysis.  As  for  the  several  Co-opera 
tors,  who  made  up  the  Legislature  and  occupied  other  gov 
ernment  positions,  they  had  no  money — that  is,  United 
States  gold,  silver  and  paper.  Their  entire  exchange  con 
sisted  of  the  orders  and  checks  already  described.  It  was 
evident  that  they  would  not  be  able  to  pay  cash  for  what 
they  purchased  in  Boise  and  the  merchants  and  other  busi 
ness  men  realized  as  early  as  December  that  they  were  not 
likely  to  reap  a  harvest  from  the  new  administration. 

This  was  also  anticipated  by  the  Department  of  Com 
merce  at  Co-opolis,  and  an  agent  of  the  Legislative  Council 


80  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

was  sent  down  to  Boise,  who  speedily  closed  a  trade  for  a  lot 
of  land  on  Boise's  principal  street.  Then  came  carloads  'of 
lumber  from  Co-opolis,  and  a  force  of  Co-opolitan  carpen 
ters  was  speedily  at  work,  even  in  the  dead  of  winter,  con 
structing  a  good,  substantial  and  commodious  three-story- 
high  building.  One-half  of  this  building  was  a  hotel  and 
one-half  a  department  store.  By  January  1st  such  was  the 
energy  displayed  by  the  Co-opolitan  workmen  that  it  was 
completed  and  furnished  and  the  store  part  was  stocked 
with  a  large  assortment  of  groceries,  hardware,  cutlery, 
drugs,  clothing,  dry  goods,  fancy  goods,  millinery,  fruit, 
meats,  boots  and  shoes,  dairy  products  and  many  other  of 
the  manufactures  and  products  of  Co-opolis  and  the  Co- 
opolitan  farm. 

This,  to  a  very  large  extent,  solved  the  problem  of  com 
fort  and  supplies  for  our  representatives.  The  orders  and 
checks  of  the  Association  were  all  good  at  the  hotel  and 
store.  A  fe\v  motorcycles  with  runners  and  others  without 
and  some  horses  and  carriages  were  provided  later  on.  The 
inferiority  of  the  streets  and  roads  in  and  around  Boise  at 
that  time  made  horses  indispensable  in  the  conveyance  of 
passengers  in  the  winter  time.  The  department  stores  un 
dersold  every  other  business  and  in  a  very  short  time  its 
trade  from  the  citizens  and  from  the  surrounding  country 
was  enormous.  The  competitive  stores  could  not  compete 
with  them.  The  same  was  true  of  the  hotel.  The  table 
creaked  with  the  finest  of  Co-opolitan  foods  and  delicacies 
prepared  by  the  most  expert  of  Co-opolitan  cooks.  The, 
service  at  the  hotel  was  excellent,  the  beds  were  clean  and 
soft,  and  the  attention  given  by  our  hotel  attendants  made 
up  for  the  somewhat  temporary  character  of  the  buildings. 

Notwithstanding  the  complete  prostration  of  town  busi 
ness  and  the  absence  of  work  for  workmen,  skilled  and  un 
skilled,  the  farmer  and  the  cattle  men  around  Boise  began 
almost  immediately  to  realize  that  it  was  an  advantage  to 
them.  They  obtained  all  manufactured  goods  at  our  de 
partment  store  cheaper  than  ever  before.  They  were  also 
able  to  exchange  their  products  for  department  store  wares. 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  81 

The  wheat,,  corn,  oats  and  other  staple  products  of  the  farm 
and  cattle  from  the  ranges  still  found  as  good  a  market 
abroad  as  ever  and  commanded  as  good  prices.  That  was 
not  saying  very  much,  however,  for  prices  everywhere  ruled 
low. 

State,  municipal,  county  and  other  public  bonds  depreci 
ated  until  their  value  was  scarcely  more  than  nominal. 
Miners  and  cattle  men  were  nearly  the  only  classes  who 
were  now  able  to  pay  taxes,  and  both  classes  were  notori 
ously  expert  in  evading  this  duty  by  false  statements  of 
their  wealth.  It  was  evident  that  before  another  year 
passed,  if  Idaho  depended  upon  the  money  of  the  United 
States  in  circulation  within  her  jurisdiction,  for  the  pay 
ment  of  public  expenses,  that  her  condition  was  one  of 
hopeless  bankruptcy. 

This  condition  did  not  much  interest  the  rank  and  file 
of  the  Co-operators,  because  they  were  well  satisfied  with 
their  labor-credit  checks  and  industrial  orders,  which  en 
abled  them  to  obtain  all  they  needed,  even  money,  under 
certain  restrictions.  But  the  individualists  were  in  despair 
and  many  of  them  emigrated  with  their  flocks  and  herds  to 
Wyoming.  Others  who  considered  that  their  holdings  in 
Idaho  were  too  valuable  to  leave,  not  understanding  the  Co- 
operators'  plans!,  contented  themselves  with  abusing  what 
they  called  the  stupidity  of  the  administration.  They  knew 
it  was  the  unalterable  purpose  of  our  people  never  to  issue 
public  bonds  and  this  was  the  only  method  of  raising  money 
for  public  uses  of  which  they  had  any  knowledge.  Some  of 
them  proposed  the  issuance  of  warrants  upon  the  treasury, 
bearing  interest  after  demand,  but  this  was  immediately  re 
jected. 

The  proposition  was  made  by  one  prominent  individ 
ualist  newspaper  to  issue  treasury  notes  to  circulate  as 
money,  but  this  was  at  once  declared  impracticable  as  being 
an  encroachment  upon  the  authority  of  the  Federal  govern 
ment  to  coin  money  and  the  provision  of  the  Federal  con 
stitution  prohibiting  the  emission  by  the  states  of  bills  of 
credit.  Turning  then  to  state-bank  issues  the  individualist 


82  THE   CO-OPOLITAN. 

found  no  encouragement  from  that  quarter,  as  he  was  con 
fronted  by  the  Federal  tax  of  ten  per  cent  of  such  issues. 
Be  it  noted,  however,  that  some  of  the  bankers  were  in 
clined  to  favor  the  issue  of  state-bank  notes  and  strongly 
advised  that  it  be  done,  arguing  that  it  was  better  to  have 
money  with  the  ten  per  cent  tax  rather  than  no  money  at 
all.  But  the  administration  simply  declared  that  Co-opera 
tors  did  not  feel  the  scarcity  of  money  and  a  far  better  plan 
than  any  proposed  would  doubtless  be  discovered. 

The  Legislature  remained  in  session  just  thirty  days. 
Very  few  new  laws  were  enacted.  Of  those  which  were  en 
acted  the  reduction  of  all  salaries  of  public  officials  one-half, 
the  law  providing  for  a  constitutional  convention,  the  dele 
gates  to  which  were  to  have  no  compensation  except  travel 
ing  expenses,  the  abolition  of  several  offices,  such  as  insur 
ance  commissioner,  labor  commissioner,  etc.,  the  repeal  of 
the  law  authorizing  corporations  and  the  enactment  of  a 
law  respecting  the  organization  of  Co-operative  Associations 
and  their  regulation,  were  the  most  important.  Some  ap 
propriations  were  made,  but  it  was  admitted  to  be  one  of 
the  most  economical  sessions  ever  held  by  any  legislative 
body,  so  far  as  results  to  the  state  were  concerned.  The 
law  reducing  salaries  one-half,  although  not  strictly  applic 
able  to  existing  officials,  was  effective  because  all  Co-oper 
ators  in  office  willingly  complied  with  it,  and  that  general 
compliance  influenced  individualists  to  do  likewise. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION  AND  ITS  LABORS. 

The  constitutional  convention  was  set  for  July  4th,  1903, 
f,t  Co-opolis.  The  election  was  held  two  weeks  before  that 
time.  Few  individualists  were  anxious  to  become  delegates 
because  the  honor  was  unaccompanied  by  compensation, 
and  for  the  further  reason  the  majority  of  Co-operators  was 
now  overwhelming.  The  result  was  that  the  same  propor 
tion  of  Co-operators  obtained  in  the  convention  as  in  the 
Legislature  and  it  was  evident  that  the  progress  of  the  Co 
operative  Commonwealth  would  be  carried  out.  When  the 
convention  met  it  was  called  to  order  by  the  Governor,  a 
portion  of  whose  address  on  that  occasion  is  well  worthy  of 
repetition.  After  tracing  briefly  the  history  of  Co-opolis 
and  the  Brotherhood  of  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth, 
in  glowing  language,  he  took  up  the  question  of  the  Co 
operative  Constitution  and  said: 

"Gentlemen:  You  are  the  men  in  whose  wisdom  the 
state  of  Idaho  confides  and  upon  whose  action  here  the  fate 
.of  unknown  generations  hangs.  I  would  not  presume  to 
advise  you  with  regard  to  your  all-important  mission,  but 
I  shall  ask  permission  to  offer,  with  the  greatest  humility 
and  with  all  respect  for  your  high  intelligence,  a  few  simple 
suggestions. 

"The  burden  of  all  I  have  to  say  can  be  aptly  phrased  in 
the  somewhat  homely  language  borrowed  from  the  street. 
Do  not  put  your  state  in  a  'strait  jacket.'  Do  not  think 
it  necessary  to  prohibit,  restrict,  define  and  dogmatize  when 
you  come  to  make  your  constitution. 

"When  you  have  provided  a  system  of  state  government 
and  made  clean  and  emphatic  the  boundaries  of  executive, 
legislative  and  judicial  power,  consider  that  you  have  com 
pleted  your  work.  Do  not  undertake  to  guard  the  inalien- 


84  THE   CO-OPOLITAN. 

able  rights  of  man  by  introducing  details,  methods  and 
systems  into  your  constitution.  Leave  all  that  to  the  coin-, 
mon  sense  and  common  justice  of  the  people.  Let  your 
Legislature  dominate  both  the  executive  and  judiciary. 
That  body  is  designed,  or  should  be,  to  express  the  popular 
will.  The  judiciary  is  designed  to  interpret  that  will  as  ex 
pressed.  The  executive  is  to  carry  that  will  into  effect." 

The  Governor's  address  did  not  advance  further  into  the 
province  of  the  convention.  He  spoke,  for  the  most  part, 
in  a  merry  vein,  as  if  he  felt  that  even  if  the  success  of  his 
work  was  not  yet  achieved  it  had  nearly  passed  the  stage  of 
experimentation,  and  when  he  concluded  the  convention, 
while  impressed  with  the  importance  of  its  great  mis 
sion,  appeared  to  share  in  their  leader's  satisfaction. 

The  convention  continued  in  session  one  week.  The 
result  of  its  work  was  a  constitution,  brief,  clear  and  sim 
ple.  It  ^rovided  for  executive  and  legislative  departments. 
No  judiciary  was  provided  for.  It  prescribed  the  duties  of 
the  executive  department  and  provided  for  Jts  branches. 
The  first  Governor  of  Idaho  was  to  hold  office  for  a  period 
of  three  years  and  all  Governors  succeeding  for  seven  years 
each.  He  was  the  chief  executive  of  the  state  and  his  duty 
was  to  see  that  the  law  was  enforced. 

There  were  to  be  a  Secretary  of  State,  State  Auditor, 
State  Treasurer,  Attorney-General  and  Secretary  of  Co 
operative  Industries.  The  duties  of  these  several  officials 
were  such  as  ordinarily  attach  to  such  officials,  except  that 
of  Secretary  of  Co-operative  Industries.  It  was  the  duty 
of  this  official  to  keep  a  full  record  of  all  Co-operative  As 
sociations  in  the  state,  their  rules  and  by-laws,  and  to  use 
his  best  endeavors  to  bring  about  a  complete  union  of  all 
under  one  head.  He  was  alsa  to  be  the  active  general  of 
the  militia  of  the  state  and  superintend  all  operations  of 
that  body,  subject  to  the  order  of  the  Governor.  The  Great 
Council  possessed  all  legislative  and  judicial  power.  The 
legislative  power  could  not  be  delegated,  but  was  restricted 
and  controlled  by  the  people  as  follows:  When  twenty  per 
cent  of  the  voting  population  of  the  state  should  petition  to 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  85 

have  any  law,  whether  on  the  statute  hooks  or  not,  sub 
mitted  to  popular  vote,  the  Governor's  duty  was  to  submit 
it  at  the  annual  election  held  in  October  of  each  year. 

A  majority  vote  was  sufficient  to  enact  or  repeal  such 
law. 

It  was  also  provided  that  if  twenty  per  cent  of  the  popu 
lation  should  petition  the  President  to  remove  any  official 
from  office  the  question  of  such  removal  should  be  submit 
ted  to  the  popular  vote  at  the  next  annual  election,  and  a 
majority  vote  was  sufficient  to  retain  or  remove  such  offi 
cial.  In  case  such  officer  was  removed  by  popular  vote  the 
Governor  was  to  appoint  a  successor  to  hold  until  the  next 
annual  election,  but  the  person  removed  could  not  hold  the 
office  again  until  one  full  term  had  intervened.  The  Leg 
islature  had  power  to  delegate  its  judicial  functions  in  such 
manner  as  it  saw  fit. 

When  it  was  desired  to  remove  the  Governor  the  petition 
must  be  submitted  to  the  Great  Council  and  in  case  of  his 
removal  the  vacancy  was  filled  by  that  body. 

When  the  convention  adjourned  its  labors  had  produced 
the  briefest  written  constitution  in  force  in  any  of  the 
states  of  the  American  Union.  In  my  opinion  it  was  the 
best.  It  not  only  made  the  legislative  body  the  most  promi 
nent  of  the  people's  servants',  but  it  provided  a  plain  and 
simple  method  for  the  exercise  of  such  control.  It  pro 
vided  a  strong  executive  to  execute  the  laws  and  made  him 
the  commander-in-chief  of  the  militia  of  the  state,  both 
industrial  and  military,  but  it  gave  him  no  veto  or  pardon 
ing  power.  It  was,  however,  his  province  to  recommend  to 
the  Great  Council  the  pardon  of  persons  sentenced  by  the 
judiciary  to  punishment,  and  few  instances  are  known  to 
our  history  where  such  recommendations  were  not  acted 
upon  favorably.  It  contained  one  brief  provision  which 
expresses  all  that  is  best  in  modern  civilized  government  in 
a  few  words.  That  provision,  under  the  head  of  Co-opera 
tion,  is  as  follows: 

"The  Council  shall  provide  for  the  government  owner 
ship  of  all  the  sources  and  machinery  of  production  and  the 


86  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

operation  of  the  same,  to  the  end  that  no  person  within  the 
state  shall  be  idle  or  needy.  It  shall  cause  all  railroads, 
water  rights,  mines  and  cultivated  or  uncultivated  lands  to 
be  purchased  by  the  state  as  speedily  as  practicable  and 
shall  levy  an  army,  to  be  known  as  the  Industrial  Army,  to 
work  the  same.  The  state  shall  never  sell,  grant  or  alienate 
any  of  its  property  so  acquired.  No  property  shall  be  taken 
from  any  person  or  persons  by  the  state  without  paying  just 
compensation  therefor." 

All  the  laws  in  force  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the 
new  constitution,  except  such  as  were  inconsistent  with  it, 
were  to  be  continued  in  force  until  amended  or  repealed. 
All  officials,  except  those  whose  offices  were  abolished  by 
the  new  constitution,  or  should  be  abolished  by  the  Great 
Council,  continued  in  office  until  the  next  general  election. 

The  constitutional  election  was  held  the  third  Monday 
in  Augu  i;,  1903,  and  resulted  in  the  adoption  of  this  new 
instrument.  By  its  terms  the  old  system  of  legislation  be 
ing  abolished,  the  Governor  was  authorized  to  convene  the 
first  session  of  the  Great  Council  the  first  Monday  in  Janu 
ary,  1904.  An  election  was  called  for  November,  and  at 
that  election  the  Great  Council,  consisting  of  one  hundred 
and  ninety  members,  representing  as  nearly  as  possible  one 
for  each  one  thousand  voters,  were  elected.  All  but  thirty 
were  Co-operators.  There  was  no  doubt  now  that  the  new 
state  and  the  new  system  were,  for  a  time  at  least,  estab 
lished.  The  machinery  of  government  was  in  our  hands 
and  the  future  rested  with  us. 

The  world  beyond  Idaho  did  not  apparently  concern 
itself  with  us  or  our  system.  The  defeat  of  the  opposition 
which  had,  in  the  election  of  1902,  attacked  us  with  bitter 
ness,  resulted  in  that  opposition  subsiding  into  silence. 
The  great  dailies,  magazines  and  periodicals  simply  refused 
to  recognize  us,  and  our  system  received  no  notice  from  the 
capitalist  world.  This  was  annoying  to  some  of  the  Co- 
operators,  both  in  and  out  of  Idaho,  because  we  felt  that 
we  were  ignored  and  that  our  merits  ought  to  be  pro 
claimed.  I  remember  some  of  our  members  of  the  Great 


THE   CO-OPOLITAN.  87 

Council  expressing  dissatisfaction  because  of  this  fact  in 
the  presence  of  Governor  Thompson. 

"Merits!"  exclaimed  he;  "what  merits  have  we?  We 
have  simply  shown  the  world  that  for  five  years  we  could 
work  together  and  produce  wonders.  Let  us  see  what  we 
can  do  as  lawmakers.  Let  us  show  what,  we  can  do  with  a 
state  after  we  have  captured  it.  If  we  make  some  blunders 
you  need  not  flatter  yourselves  that  you  are  unobserved. 
Jf  you  build  a  strong  and  substantial  state  you  need  not 
fear  that  the  world  will  overlook  that  fact.  The  truth  is 
that  all  the  capital,  intellect  and  classes  of  America  are 
watching  for  signs  of  disagreement  and  dismembership. 
They  will  be  disappointed  if  they  do  not  find  them,  but 
when  you  are  on  a  solid  basis  then  they  will  proclaim  your 
system  a  \vonder  and  philosophers  will  come  to  observe  and 
study  it.  We  ought  to  bear  all  this  in  mind  as  we  proceed 
to  the  work  of  making  proper  laws  for  the  regulation,  of 
this  state.  Our  history  is  just  begun  and  it  rests  with  us 
whether  it  will  continue." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

DEPARTMENT  STORES  IN  THE  COMPETITIVE  SYSTEM- 
DEPARTMENT  STORES  IN  CO-OPERATION— THE  CO-OPOL- 
ITAN  ASSOCIATION  DISCOVERS  THE  VALUE  OF  THE 
DEPARTMENT  STORE  AS  A  WEAPON  OF  WARFARE— THE 
DEATH  OF  OLD  BOISE. 

The  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  saw  strange 
and  novel  influences  at  work  in  the  competitive  system  of 
the  civilized  "world.  The  great  advantages  accruing  from 
co-operation  had  become  apparent,  in  those  days,  to  a 
few,  and  these  employed  its  methods  to  a  limited  extent  to 
acquire  ast  fortunes  for  themselves.  Such  were  corpora 
tions,  trusts,  great  combinations  of  capital,  department 
stores  and  syndicates.  These  concerns,  establishing  them 
selves  in  every  industrial  center,  absorbed  nearly  every  in 
dustry.  It  was  impossible  for  the  individual,  the  small  cap 
italist,  the  man,  to  compete  with  such  institutions,  and  yet 
those  who  were  the  greatest  gainers  from  them  were  the 
most  zealous  advocates  of  the  competitive  system.  Wana- 
maker's  vast  department  stores  in  Philadelphia  and  New 
York  city  were  good  illustrations  of  what  the  co-operative 
institution,  employed  against  the  co-operator,  could  accom 
plish,  both  for  the  one  man  who  owned  it  and  against  the 
many  who  were  asked  to  compete  with  it. 

The  owner  grew  fabulously  rich.  There  was  no  limit 
to  his  acquisitions  and  he  swallowed  up  all  competitors  who 
could  not  do  business  on  the  same  system.  Commercial 
house  after  commercial  house  fell  before  Wanamaker.  Man 
after  man  became  bankrupt,  not  because  he  lacked  business 
ability,  or  was  idle  or  inattentive,  but  because  he  could  not 
compete  with  Wanamaker.  So  it  came  to  pass  that  in 
Wanatnaker's  great  marvels  of  industry,  the  department 
stores,  some  of  the  brightest,  shrewdest  and  most  expert 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  89 


business  men  were  serving  as  managers  of  departments, 
floor  walkers,  clerks  and  bookkeepers.  It  was,  indeed,  a 
vast,  ceaseless  and  mighty  army  of  co-operators  intent  upon 
making  the  fortune  of  one  man,  and  with  such  a  combina 
tion  competition  could  not  compete. 

In  Idaho  our  colony  accidentally  discovered  the  use  to 
which  they  could  put  this  great  "idea"  which  enabled 
Wanamaker  to  conquer  the  commercial  world  and  force  the 
princes  of  industry  to  become  his  willing  slaves.  This  was 
the  undesigned  conquest  of  Boise  City  by  the  Co-operative 
Commonwealth.  When  the  first  Great  Council  met  in 
January,  1904,  our  Co-operative  Hotel  had  absorbed  the 
entire  business  of  all  other  hotels  in  the  city. 

All  our  productive  power  was  so  fully  employed  that  we 
were  able  to  furnish  board  and  lodging  for  a  small  sum,  of 
a  quality  such  as  few  hotels  in  cities  of  a  hundred  thousand 
persons  offered  their  guests.  Our  department  store  was 
equally  successful. 

It  cost  us  nothing  to  advertise. 

We  painted  no  signs. 

We  paid  no  rents. 

The  only  expense  we  incurred  was  the  labor  we  expended, 
and  labor  was  as  plentiful  as  humanity. 

Besides  this,  we  employed  labor-saving  machinery  with 
out  stint,  and  thereby  multiplied  the  enormous  power  of 
co-operative  labor  many  times. 

We  were  better  and  more  powerfully  prepared  to  destroy 
competition  than  Wanamaker,  because  we  had  no  expenses 
and  wasted  neither  time  nor  money  in  inviting  trade. 

We  sold  daily  the  best  wares  and  produce  which  we  could 
manufacture  or  procure.  The  excellence  of  our  stocks, 
together  with  the  smallness  of  our  prices,  was  our  recom 
mendation. 

We  intensified  by  our  establishment  in  Boise  City  the 
well-known  effects  of  the  department  store  in  competitive 
cities. 

All  the  trade  came  to  us. 

Nothing  could  compete  with  our  system,  and  merchants 


90  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

and  hotel  men  were  compelled  to  assign  for  the  benefit  of 
creditors,  join  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth  or  depart 
from  the  state. 

When  our  new  constitution  was  adopted  the  Co-opolitan 
Legislative  Council  made  a  rule  that  all  persons  who  were 
citizens  of  the  state  at  that  time  should  be  eligible  for  mem 
bership  on  the  same  terms  as  all  other  members  of  the 
National  Brotherhood.  Most  of  the  merchants  and  hotel 
men  in  Boise  City  whose  occupations  were  gone  chose  to 
join  our  body  and  were  assigned  to  positions  in  the  Co- 
opolitan  store  or  some  suitable  department  at  Co-opolis. 

Lawyers  being  largely  creatures  of  competition,  nearly 
all  disappeared,  and  the  few  who  remained  either  joined  us 
and  were  assigned  to  the  Legal  department  or  if  they  re 
mained  and  did  not  join  engaged  in  the  precarious  business 
of  settling  up  bankrupt  estates. 

The  Association  had,  with  the  opening  of  spring,  pur 
chased  a  pleasantly  located  tract  of  land  adjoining  the  city, 
laid  it  out  on  the  plan  of  Co-opolis  as  nearly  as  could  be 
done,  constructed  elegant  brick  hotel  and  department  store 
buildings,  built  a  large  number  of  cottages  similar  to  those 
in  Co-opolis,  and  a  commodious  school  building,  and  pro 
vided  water,  gas,  electric  and  steam-heating  plants.  About 
November  1st,  1903,  the  entire  Co-opolitan  plant  in  Boise 
City,  including  the  industrial  force  employed,  removed  to 
the  new  town  and  old  Boise  was  well  nigh  deserted. 

The  reason  for  this  move  is  apparent. 

Old  Boise  was  burdened  by  debt  which  it  was  no  part  of 
the  design  or  duty  of  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth  or  of 
the  Co-opolitan  colony  to  pay. 

There  was  a  large  bonded  municipal  debt,  a  large  bonded 
water  debt  and  another  large  school  debt. 

The  gas  and  electric  plants  were  also  bonded,  but  those 
were  private  debts  payable  only  by  such  as  availed  them 
selves  of  their  advantages. 

There  was  no  way  to  avoid  assuming  these  public  debts 
if  we  continued  in  the  old  city. 

Some  of  our  enemies,  later  on,  set  up  a  howl  against  what 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  91 

they  termed  our  immorality  in  running  away  from  these 
obligations.  But  they  were  not  our  obligations.  We  did 
not  make  them  and  we  certainly  had  a  right  to  live  outside 
of  the  territory  affected  by  them  if  we  chose.  In  competitive 
cities  business  enterprises  and  persons  of  integrity  and 
fortune  usually  locate  where  the  public  burdens  are  least 
likely  to  rest  heavily  upon  them. 

While  Boise  City,  that  is  the  collection  of  town  lots, 
streets  and  buildings  bearing  that  historic  designation,  was 
blighted,  the  collection  of  people  who  had  done  all  the  work 
of  building  it  was  immeasurably  improved  by  the  Co-oper 
ative  accession.  A  new  Boise  City  had  begun  to  grow  up  on 
the  commercial  ruins  of  the  old,  but  the  Boston,  New  York, 
St.  Louis  and  Chicago  people  who  held  large  tracts  of  land 
around  about  and  in  the  city  were  not  benefited  by  this 
change.  New  Boise  did  not  help  them.  Indeed,  their  land 
depreciated  in  price  daily. 

The  banks  of  old  Boise  all  went  into  liquidation  and 
made  frantic  efforts  to  collect  their  debts. 

Money  loaners  did  the  same. 

Insurance  agents  either  fled  from  the  blight  or  came 
to  us. 

Saloonkeepers,  speculators  in  land,  dance-hall  proprie 
tors,  persons  whose  methods  of  gaining  a  livelihood  were 
illegal,  women  of  ill  reputation  and  gamblers  all  departed 
for  lands  unknown. 

From  the  competitive  point  of  view  this  hegira  was  re 
garded  as  a  fatal  blow  to  old  Boise.  Useless  as  were  their 
occupations  to  the  production  or  even  distribution  of 
wealth,  they  had  been  deemed  necessary,  because  they  lured 
money  into  the  city,  and  this  money,  being  collected  in  fines 
from  one  class  and  taxes  from  another  class,  went  to  help 
pay  interest  on  public  bonds.  Many  a  pious  holder  of 
municipal  bonds  would  be  shocked  to  learn  that  but  for  the 
toleration  of  criminal  and  disgusting  practices  in  the 
bonded  city  the  bond  would  be  well  nigh  worthless.  Yet 
such  was  the  case. 

The  Legislative  Council  of  the  city  of  Co-opolis  took  full 


92  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

notice  of  the  situation  at  Boise  and  after  visiting  and 
viewing  the  city  felt  and  expressed  great  pleasure.  Jt  was 
our  first  venture  into  a  competitive  city,  and  at  the  outset 
we  had  entertained  some  misgivings  as  to  the  probabilities 
of  a  success.  But  the  seeming  necessity  of  providing  accom 
modations  for  a  Co-operative  Legislature  forced  us  to  enter 
Boise  City  and  the  results  were  astonishing.  The  profits 
were  immense,  and  it  was  now  evident  that  the  co-operative 
system  was  not  only  a  powerful  developer  of  a  new  and  hith 
erto  unoccupied  country,  but  that  in  very  truth  it  was  in 
vincible  in  the  very  center  of  competition.  Honesty, 
justice  and  fraternity,  in  combination  with  industry,  were 
unconquerable,  and  left  no  room  for  the  gambler,  trie  spec 
ulator,  the  panderer  or  the  drone.  This  discovery  having 
been  made,  the  Legislative  Council  announced  its  purpose 
to  place  a  department  store  and  hotel  in  every  city  in  the 
state,  biio  to  proceed  cautiously,  so  as  not  to  diminish  the 
annual  dividends  of  members. 

By  the  employment  of  this  great  industrial  force  it 
was  believed  the  citizens  of  Idaho  would  speedily  be 
brought  to  enlist  in  and  share  the  benefits  of  the  Co-opera 
tive  Commonwealth.  And  events  have  proved  the  belief 
correct. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

OUR  NEW  REVENUE  SYSTEM-CONSTITUTIONAL  BATTLE 
OVER  BILLS  OF  CREDIT— MONEY  IN  IDAHO— CONFLICTS 
WITH  CATTLE  MEN  AND  MINE  OWNERS -CO-OPERATION 
AGAINST  THE  FIELD. 

The  Great  Council  of  1904  readjusted  our  legal  system 
to  conform  to  the  new  constitution  and  the  co-operative 
programme.  The  political  subdivision  of  the  state  into 
counties  was  not  disturbed  and  local  government  of  these 
was  delegated  to  county  commissioners.  What  had  been 
variously  denominated  home  rule  and  local  option  was, 
however,  greatly  extended. 

Counties  were  permitted  to  determine  for  themselves 
many  questions  which  by  the  old  system  were  within  the 
exclusive  province  of  the  Legislature.  No  county  or  other 
subdivision  of  the  state  was  permitted  to  issue  bonds  for  any 
purpose  nor  to  expend  in  any  one  year  more  than  the  total 
amount  received  in  taxes.  But  each  county  had  the  option 
to  pay  the  state  tax  in  money  or  in  the  products  of  labor. 
Where  a  county  voted  to  pay  taxes  in  the  products  of  labor 
it  was  required  to  maintain  as  many  store  houses  as  were 
necessary  to  properly  and  securely  store  its  receipts. 

The  law  provided  that  the  Great  Council  should  an 
nually  elect  a  commission  consisting  of  five  members,  whose 
duty  it  was  to  meet  at  the  capital  city  in  October  of  each 
year  and  determine  the  value  of  the  various  products  of  the 
state.  The  cereals,  for  instance,  were  to  be  valued  at  so 
much  per  bushel,  vegetables  and  fruit  at  so  much  per 
pound,  precious  metals  at  so  much  per  ounce,  wool,  hides, 
furs  and  other  raw  material  at  such  prices  as  were  fixed  in 
the  schedule  prepared  by  the  commission.  All  articles 
named  in  the  schedule  were  to  be  received  in  lieu  of  money 


94  THE   CO-OPOLITAN. 

and  at  the  prices  fixed,  so  long  as  that  schedule  remained  in 
force. 

This  plan  would  have  been  impracticable  had  it  not  been 
for  the  fact  that  the  Legislative  Council  of  Co-opolis  agreed 
to  take  all  produce  so  received  for  taxes  at  the  schedule 
price  therefor.  The  latter,  for  its  own  protection,  placed  a 
department  store  in  -every  county  seat,  where,  under  its 
contract,  it  reserved  all  perishable  property  and  either  sold 
it  in  the  proper  department  of  its  local  store  or  shipped  it  at 
once  to  a  suitable  market.  The  schedule  prices  were  suffi 
ciently  low  to  protect  the  Co-opolitan  Association  from  loss. 
As  for  hides,  furs,  wool  and  other  raw  material,  and  staple 
agricultural  products,  they  were  carefully  inspected  by  Co- 
opolitan  commissioners  at  the  receiving  department  store 
or  warehouse,  and,  if  not  of  schedule  standard,  were  not 
accepted.  In  this  manner  and  by  this  system  all  producers 
were  ab'a  to  pay  their  taxes  without  being  compelled  to 
borrow  money  and  in  the  very  wealth  which  their  industry 
produced. 

All  public  expenses  were  defrayed  and  all  salaries  were 
paid  in  the  products  of  labor.  The  salary  of  a  judge,  for 
instance,  amounting  to  twelve  hundred  dollars  per  annum, 
neither  more  nor  less  than  a  Co-opolitan  received  as  his 
annual  dividend,  was  paid  by  the  state  in  orders  or  credit 
checks  for  goods  or  whatever  the,  Co-opolitan  Association 
had  to  sell.  Such  orders  were  of  various  denominations 
and  in  the  following  form: 
To  the  Co-opolitan  Association: 

Deliver  to  the  bearer  hereof  goods,  wares,  merchandise, 
entertainment  or  services  of  the  value  of  one  dollar  and 
charge  the  Fame  to  the  State  of  Idaho. 

Jacob  Wirth,  John  Thompson, 

Secretary.  Governor. 

This  method  of  collecting  taxes  and  paying  state  ex 
penses  proved  fully  equal  to  the  emergency.  The  Co- 
opolitan  Association  lost  nothing  by  it.  All  schedule  prices 
were  fixed,  as  I  have  already  stated,  at  a  figure  which  was 
slightly  lower  than  the  cash  market  price  for  non-perish- 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  05 

able  and  staple  products  and  still  lower  for  produce  gener 
ally  considered  perishable. 

But  the  producer  also  found  his  advantage  to  consist  in 
the  facility  with  which  it  enabled  him  to  meet  his  public 
dues  at  all  times  promptly,  thus  avoiding  penalties,  interest 
and  expenses.  The  system  had  not  been  long  in  operation 
before  a  question  arose,  concerning  these  orders,  with  the 
Federal  authorities,  who,  at  first,  pronounced  the  Co-opoli- 
tan  Association  a  kind  of  a  banking  institution,  and  the 
state  orders  upon  it  devices  in  the  nature  of  state  bank 
issues.  The  effort  was  then  made  to  compel  the  Co-opoli- 
tan  Association  to  pay  the  ten  per  cent  tax  imposed  by  the 
Federal  law  on  such  issues. 

The  question  was  never  brought  into  the  courts,  because 
the  most  eminent  and  expert  lawyers  in  the  Union  agreed 
that  such  orders  could  no  more  be  regarded  as  money  than 
the  checks  of  business  men  upon  their  bank  deposits,  the 
promissory  notes  of  debtors,  the  tickets  of  transportation 
companies  and  the  time  checks  of  mining  and  other  large 
corporations  controlling  labor. 

Another  question  arose  of  a  more  serious  character  upon 
the  right  of  the  state  to  emit  "Bills  of  Credit."  This  the 
Federal  constitution  prohibited.  A  test  case  was  made 
upon  one  of  the  state  orders  and  taken  to  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court.  The  decision  of  that  tribunal  was  ren 
dered  by  a  divided  court,  a  majority  being  of  opinion  that 
they  could  not  be  regarded  as  coming  within  the  prohibi 
tion  of  the  constitution  referred  to.  These  orders,  the 
court  held,  were  not  designed  to  circulate  as  money,  because 
they  were  directed' to  a  private  association  of  individuals 
designated  as  the  Co-opolitan  Association,  and  simply  di 
rected  such  association  to  deliver  goods  to  the  bearer.  It 
was  not  a  promise  on  the  part  of  the  state  to  pay  money,  nor 
to  deliver  goods.  It  was  to  be  honored  on  demand,  and 
when  received  by  the  Association  in  question  was  forthwith 
canceled.  Evidence  was  offered  by  the  parties  seeking  to 
void  the  orders  that  as  a  matter  of  fact  they  did  circulate 
as  money.  This  was  held  to  be  immaterial,  for  the  reason 


96  THE   CO-OPOLITAN. 

that  the  fact,  if  shown,  would  not  tend  to  prove  that  such 
was  the  intention  of  the  state.  The  truth  was  that  very  few 
of  the  state  orders  so  circulated.  They  were  usually  pre 
sented  to  the  Co-opolitan  store  at  any  county  seat  without 
intermediate  transfer,  and  a  labor-credit  check  or  industrial 
orders  were  issued  instead. 

It  is  true  that  such  industrial  orders  so  circulated  and 
were  treated  as  money  by  the  people  of  Idaho,  but  the  prac 
tice  was  not  encouraged  by  Co-operators,  because  it  was  an 
incident  of  individualism  and  not  of  co-operation.  Their 
circulation  could  not  be  prevented  so  long  as  the  co 
operative  plan  embraced  the  purchase  of  all  property  owned 
or  produced  by  individualists  in  the  state,  and  payment  on 
goods  or  property  as  represented  by  these  orders.  In  1904 
more  than  one-half  of  the  people  of  the  state  were  members 
of  the  O-opolitan  Association,  and  great  numbers  of  those 
who  were  not  members  were  daily  becoming  so.  It  was  be 
lieved  that  in  time  our  industrial  orders  would  cease  to  cir 
culate  and  perhaps  be  entirely  superseded  by  the  labor- 
-  credit  check.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  labor- 
credit  check,  not  being  transferable,  never  passed  out  of  the 
hands  of  its  owner. 

The  policy  of  Idaho  and  the  Co-opolitan  Association  was 
to  .prevent,  as  far  as  possible,  the  circulation  of  money  in 
the  state.  It  was  treated  as  if  it  were  a  kind  of  poison 
which  produced  among  m£n  most  dreadful  diseases,  and 
at  the  same  time  was  an  instrument  of  moral,  financial  and 
social  ruin.  We  were  fully  convinced,  when  Co-opolis  was 
founded,  that  if  co-operation  was  to  succeed  some  system 
must  be  applied  which  would  exclude  money  from  use 
among  Co-operators.  But  it  was  recognized  that  outside 
of  Idaho  money  was  and  must  continue  to  remain  king,  as 
long  as  the  industrial  competitive  and  individualist  system 
governed  their  affairs.  For  this  reason  the  Co-opolitan 
Legislative  Council  accepted  money,  but  sought  in  every 
possible  way  to  prevent  its  circulation. 

All  money  obtained  by  the  sale  of  surplus  products, 
manufactures  or  property  of  any  kind  in  other  states,  or 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  97 

which  might  come  into  the  co-operative  stores,  was  imme 
diately  turned  over  to  the  Legislative  Council  and  by  it  de 
posited  in  a  strong  safe  in  the*basement  of  the  Council  Hall. 
Here  it  was  guarded  as  if  it  were  a  deadly  peril  to  the  public 
weal. 

The  safe  in  which  it  rested  was  opened  by  a  combination 
known  only  to  the  President,  and  it  stood  in  an  iron  cham 
ber  whose  great  lock  was  turned  by  a  key  held  by  one  of 
the  Council.  This  was  enclosed  in  another  iron  chamber 
which  was  opened  only  by  a  different  key  held  by  another 
member  of  the  Council.  There  were  twenty-six  chambers 
of  different  sizes,  the  smaller  enclosed  within  the  larger, 
and  twenty-six  locks  opened  by  as  many  different  keys,  each 
councilor  holding  one  and  no  more.  It  took  twenty-six 
councilors  and  twenty-six  keys  to  reach  the  safe,  and  no 
money  could  be  taken  from  it  except  in  the  presence  of  at 
least  one-half  of  the  members  of  the  Legislative  Council. 
But  it  was  a  rule  of  the  Association  that  if  any  person  living 
in  the  state  desired  money  with  which  to  travel  outside  of 
the  state  he  should  make  his  affidavit  to  that  effect  setting 
forth  the  amount  he  desired,  and  upon  his  application  for 
such  an  amount,  if  the  .Council  were  satisfied  that  it  was 
made  in  good  faith  and  that  the  money  would  not  be  ex 
pended  in  the  state,  the  application  was  granted.  Articles 
which  the  Department  of  Commerce  were  compelled  to 
import  from  other  states  or  countries  were  also  paid  for 
from  the  accumulation  in  the  safe. 

After  disposing  of  the  question  of  how  taxes  and  public 
expenses  could  be  discharged  the  first  Great  Council  took 
wp  the  -question  of  what  property  should  be  taxable. 
Among  the. private  individualist  enterprises  in  Idaho  min 
ing  and  grazing  predominated.  Both  the  mine  owners  and 
cattle  men,  whose  herds  were  permitted  to  wander  at  will  on 
the  ranges,  were  expert  "tax  dodgers."  How  to  reach  them 
and  compel  them  to  pay  their  just  and  fair  proportion  of 
the  expense  of  running  the  state  and  maintaining  the 
schools  was  an  important  question.  It  was  decideol  that  all 


98  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

taxes  should  be  levied  on  land  values.  In  other  words,  what 
is  sometimes  called  the  Single-Tax  system  was  adopted. 

Wherever  cattle  men  occupied  a  range  together  the  total 
number  of  cattle  upon  it  was  determined,  owners'  names 
were  obtained  and  the  value  of  the  range  per  acre  was  esti 
mated  upon  the  basis  of  its  use  for  grazing  purposes.  Each 
owner  was  then  made  liable  for  the  tax  on  the  total  acreage 
of  the  range  occupied,  and  the  proportion  each  was  bound 
to  pay  was  no  question  for  the  state,  but  was  a  question  for 
the  cattle  men  to  determine  for  and  among  themselves. 
Cattle  men  now  found  it  impossible  to  escape  their  taxes  as 
formerly,  each  being  zealous  to  require  his  neighbor  to  pay 
his  part,  and  it  must  be  confessed  that  they  showed  a  strong 
disposition  to  leave  the  state,  so  that  the  ranges  abandoned 
by  them  were  left  for  the  use  of  our  herds. 

It  ought  to  be  said,  however,  that  the  cattle  owners  did 
not  abandon  the  state  without  a  fight.  They  resisted  the 
collection  of  taxes,  claiming  the  system  to  be  unjust  and 
against  public  policy.  One  of  the  trial  courts  decided  in 
their  favor,  but  the  case  was  appealed  to  the  Great  Council, 
which,  it  will  be  remembered,  retained  the  Supreme  Judi 
cial  authority  in  itself.  The  matter  was  referred  by  this 
body  to  six  of  its  members,  all  lawyers,  and  indeed  the  only 
lawyers  in  the  Great  Council,  all  of  whom  were  Co-opera 
tors,  and  the  trial  court  was  reversed.  There  was  also  an 
armed  resistance  to  the  collection  of  the  tax,  but  the  cattle 
men  were  speedily  put  to  rout,  the  state  militia  suffering 
no  other  loss  than  three  men  wounded.  The  newspaper 
press  throughout  the  Union,  however,  took  sides  with  the 
cattle  men,  claiming  that  the  system  of  taxation  had  been 
adopted  for  the  sole  purpose  of  driving  these  "honest"  men 
from  the  state  and  taking  possession  of  "their"  ranges.  The 
truth  was  that  the  men  who  left  the  state  on  account  of  this 
law  did  so  to  escape  honest  burdens  and  went  where  the 
laws  were  more  unjust,  or  if  not  unjust  not  effectual  to 
prevent  the  shifting  of  such  burdens 'dishonestly  to  other 
shoulders  which  ought  not  to  bear  them.  We  offered  no 
encouragement  to  dishonest  practices,  and  if  our  failure  to 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  99 

do  so  was  an  advantage  to  some  other  state  which  did  we 
certainly  had  no  occasion  to  feel  envious. 

Mining  property  owned  by  corporations  or  associations 
was  valued  at  the  full  par  of  its  capital  stock  and  assessed 
accordingly. 

It  was  the  policy  of  the  state  not  to  encourage  the  mining 
of  the  precious  minerals  by  private  enterprise.  The  min 
ers  of  the  state  were  fast  becoming  absorbed  in  our  Co- 
opolitan  Association  and  wages  had  risen  to  nearly  four 
dollars  per  day  for  skilled  or  unskilled  workers,  because  a 
membership  in  the  Co-opolitan  Association  or  its  Indus 
trial  Army  paid  that  amount  annually. 

Mine  owners  sought  to  obviate  what  they  called  the  evil 
of  high  wages  by  importing  cheaper  labor.  At  first  they 
attempted  the  introduction  of  Chinese  miners  and  later  an 
ignorant  class  of  Italians,  Hungarians  and  Slavonians.  Our 
Great  Council  prohibited  aliens  from  owning,  holding  or 
acquiring  real  estate  or  making  investments  of  any  kind 
within  the  state  on  and  after  the  date  of  the  passage  of  a 
law  to  that  effect.  It  also  prohibited  the  importation  of 
aliens  into  the  state  as  laborers,  or  the  employment  of  any 
such  by  any  person,  association  or  corporation. 

These  laws  were  all  held  to  be  valid  and  constitutional 
by  the  Supreme  £ourt  of  the  United  States,  which  some 
years  after  their  passage  had  occasion  to  pass  upon  them. 

The  result  was  that  capital  engaged  in  mining  in  Idaho 
withdrew  and  some  of  the  mines  were  purchased  at  a  low 
figure  and  operated  by  the  Co-opolitan  Association. 

Here  again  the  press  of  the  United  States  denounced 
the  immorality  of  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth,  because 
of  its  oppressive  conduct  toward  capital.  Immoral  indeed! 

Idaho  simply  made  laws  which  in  other  states  or  coun 
tries  have  never  been  disapproved  as  immoral. 

The  Co-opolitan  Association  gave  to  labor  the  same  high 
wages  in  all  its  departments,  and  in  that  manner  made  la 
borers  anxious  to  join  the  Association.  This  left  the  mine 
owner  to  do  his  own  work  or  pay  as  much  as  the  worker 
eould  earn  as  a  Co-operator. 


100  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

The  capitalist  could  not  compete  in  the  labor  market 
with  labor  itself,  when  labor  employed  its  skill  and  force 
in  its  own  behalf.  If  the  mine  which  was  made  to  produce 
wealth  for  capital  and  peril,  distress  and  death  for  labor, 
became  valueless,  because  there  was  no  longer  a  force  to 
work  it,  whose  fault  was  that? 

We  did  not  steal  the  gold  which  glistened  in  its  dark 
caverns! 

We  did  not  rob  the  capitalist  of  the  labor  which  he 
owned! 

The  labor  of  men  and  women  was  not  his  vested  right, 
like  his  mine.  He  had  preached  the  merits  of  competition 
and  we  had  simply  competed  for  and  won  the  labor  force 
that  dug  his  mine. 

Now  the  mine  was  worthless  because  the  men  who  made 
it  woul^  no  longer  work  it.  What  did  the  Co-opolitan  As 
sociation  do  which  was  immoral?  Having  taken  ifs  labor 
force  and  set  it  at  work  for  itself,  this  mine  had  no  value 
except  if  the  labor  force  could  be  restored  to  it. 

Capital  could  not  do  it.  The  Co-opolitah  Association 
could.  We  purchased  it  for  what  it  was  worth  without  the 
labor  force,  which  nobody  owned.  We  could  never  have 
done  this  if  capital  had  been  able  to  work  that  same  force 
and  steal  its  products.  Yet  the  newspaper  press  of  that  day 
denounced  us  as  immoral  and  was  effusive  in  its  praise  of 
the  competitive  system. 

The  Great  Council  at  this  session  provided  for  a  Supreme 
Judicial  Court  and  as  many  County  Courts  f&  there  were 
counties.  The  purpose  of  this  system  was  to  secure  the 
proper  administration  of  justice. 

The  Supreme  Court  was  not  authorized  to  decide  any 
question  of  the  constitutionality  of  a  law  enacted  by  the 
Great  Council  adversely,  but  if  in  their  opinion  such  law 
was  unconstitutional  they  were  required  to  certify  the  same, 
with  their  reasons,  to  the  Great  Council  for  review.  The 
jury  system  was  preserved,  with  the  exception  that  in  civil 
cases  a  majority  of  the  jury  decided.  Many  radical  changes 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  ]Q1 

were  effected  by  this  Great  Council,  but  those  mentioned 
were  the  most  sweeping. 

The  Great  Council  of  1904.,  perhaps  because  it  was  un- 
handicapped  by  precedents,  was  the  most  memorable,  for 
the  swiftness  and  merit  of  its  legislative  work,  of  any  ses 
sion  which  has  occurred  since.  Its  successors  had  been,  in 
a  very  marked  degree,  required  by  public  sentiment  to  con 
form  to  its  standards. 

Humanity,  as  all  history  proves,  when  once  it  accepts  a 
system,  whether  good  or  bad,  is  loath  to  abandon  it,  and 
permits  it  to  be  changed  only  when  the  necessity  for  change 
is  made  apparent  by  experiences  often  of  the  most  distress 
ing  nature.  For  this  reason  revolution  has  rarely  ever  pro 
duced  lasting  results  except  in  the  mere  form,  and  not  in 
the  substance  and  spirit  of  things.  If  it  be  contended  that 
society  has  undergone  great  changes  in  those  respects  let 
it  be  remembered  that  evolution,  not  revolution,  did  it. 


GHAPTEE  XVI. 

MISS  CAROLINE  WOODBERRY  AGAIN— THE  WEST  PARISH- 
PUBLICATION  OP  MISS  WOODBERRY'S  NOVEL— MAR- 
RIAGE-WE  VISIT  NEW  ENGLAND. 

Long  before  the  year  1904  drew  to  its  close  a  great 
change  had  taken  place  in  my  life.  The  feminine  disposi 
tion  of  my  aunt  to  make  matrimonial  matches  had  been 
successful  in  throwing  me  into  the  society  of  Miss  Caroline 
Woodberry  and  after  the  ride  to  Canyon  Lake,  of  which  I 
have  already  made  mention,  I  was  with  her  whenever  leis 
ure  and  opportunity  permitted. 

In  Co-opolis  there  were  in  all  seasons  amusements  and 
entertainments  of  every  kind,  and  if  we  tired  of  one  we  were 
not  at  a  loss  for  diversion  which,  while  it  could  not  increase 
the  happiness  I  found  in  the  young  lady's  society,  aided  me 
in  administering  to  her  pleasure.  Society  in  Co-opolis  was 
even  then  refined  and  intelligent.  I  do  not  mean  to  leave 
the  impression  that  our  people  had  in  six  years  acquired 
all  the  arts  and  foibles  which  fashionable  society  in  eastern 
cities  mistake  for  refinement,  but  it  really  was  wonderful 
to  see  what  improvement  prosperity  had  produced  in  the 
manner,  bearing  and  language  of  most  of  our  people. 
While  it  is  possible  that  such  prosperity  in  the  competitive 
svstem,  would  have  caused  many  to  develop  the  worst 
traits  of  their  character,  yet  the  absence  of  all  opportunity 
to  amass  a  fortune  in  speculation  or  by  gambling  methods  in 
the  co-operative  system  insured  to  each  the  enjoyment  of  his 
own  portion.  Nobody  was  or  could  be  purse  proud.  No 
body  was  or  could  be  dependent  upon  charity.  Nobody  had 
occasion  to  be  ashamed  of  his  material  condition. 

Good  clothes,  ornaments,  books,  pleasant  homes  and  all 
the  conveniences  of  modern  life  were  within  the  reach  of 
all. 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  103 

Humanity  is  so  constituted,  however,  that  its  members 
must  compete,  contend  and  battle  with  one  another. 

What  shall  be  the  field  for  this  competition?  Over  what 
shall  the  race  contend?  Where  shall  be  the  battle  ground? 

Somephilosophersin  times  past  taught  that  the  race  must 
fall  into  decay,  dwindle  into  weakness  and  lose  individu 
ality  if  it  was  removed  from  the  struggle  for  potatoes,  meat 
and  coffee.  They,  perhaps,  honestly  believed  that  it  was 
fatal  to  progress  to  raise  mankind  to  an  elevated  plane  and 
let  the  battle  be  waged  for  moral,  intellectual  and  perhaps 
spiritual  supremacy.  In  Co-opolis  our  system  eliminated 
the  mere  material  world  as  an  object  of  competition,  and 
pursuing  the  law  of  our  nature,  we  sought  to  excel  in  intel 
lectual  pursuits,  matters  of  taste,  athletics  and  what  tended 
to  personal  improvement.  It  was  not  long  before  the  Co- 
opolitan  began  to  be  known  as  being  possessed  of  good 
manners,  taste  in  matters  of  dress  and  even  polish.  These 
were  not  pronounced  characteristics  for  many  years  after, 
but  I  sometimes  thought  I  could  see  them  developing.  One 
manners,  taste  in  matters  of  dress  and  even  polish.  These 
people  from  whom,  in  part,  at  least,  the  incentive  to  acquire 
and  own  things  had  been  largely  removed,  lost  in  a  measure 
the  cheating,  lying,  cunning  and  overreaching  habits  of 
that  delusive  and  obstructing  thing  called  business.  Co- 
opolitans,  six  years  after  the  city  was  founded,  habitually 
told  one  another  the  truth. 

Sets  and  circles  existed  then,  as  now,  in  Co-6politan  soci 
ety.  Men  and  women  always  will  choose  their  own  compan 
ions  and  some  common  interest  will  always  operate  to  form 
them  into  associations.  If  some  of  the  potato  diggers  discover 
that  potato  digging  is  not  all  there  is  of  life  those  will  prob 
ably  come  to  recognize  in  one  another  kindred  spirits  whose 
kinship  is  closer  than  that  of  the  uninitiated  and  the  circle 
is  evolved.  I  was  one  of  a  circle  or  set  and  Miss  Woodberry 
was  a  member  of  that  circle,  too.  There  were  literary  gath 
erings,  card  parties,  socials  and  all  sorts  of  meetings  in  win 
ter,  and  lawn  parties,  dinners,  dances  and  all  sorts  of  pleas 
ures  in  summer.  It  must  be  admitted  that  our  social  circle 


104  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

was  generally  regarded  as  somewhat  select  in  a  literary 
sense,  because  some  of  the  brightest  minds  in  Co-opolis  were 
members.  This  did  not  exclude  us  from  the  pleasures 
which  I  have  mentioned,  but  it  gave  our  circle  a  somewhat 
sombre  rather  than  gay  reputation.  We  were  just  as  popu 
lar,,  however,  as  any  other  set,  and  by  no  means  assumed  to 
be  better  than  our  neighbors. 

Miss  Woodberry  was  not  a  member  of  the  Industrial 
Army,  and  one  of  the  great  questions  which  we  often  dis 
cussed  was  whether  she  should  become  such.  This  question 
grew  more  than  ever  urgent  when  we  decided  that  we  were 
sufficiently  attached  to  each  other  to  become  husband  and 
wife.  Attached  to  each  other!  That  sounds  and  reads 
mechanical  enough  to  describe  the  gluing  together  of  two 
blocks  of  wood,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  because  this  is, 
in  the  main,  an  historical  work  and  only  incidentally  bio 
graphic?!,  it  is -all  the  warmth  I  am  expected  to  ex 
press.  I  beg  pardon!  But  this  lady  has  been  my  wife  now 
thirty  years  and  a  better  wife  no  mortal  man  ever  had. 
Attached  to  her!  Why!  I  was  so  thoroughly  and  passion 
ately  devoted  to  her  that  I  came  very  near  incurring  the 
censure  of  my  department  associates  and  being  subjected  to 
the  operation  of  the  Imperative  Mandate  on  the  charge  of 
inattention  to  business,  but  escaped,  because,  as  I  suppose, 
"the  whole  world  loves  a  lover,"  and  my  attachment  was  not 
successfully  concealed.  Be  that  as  it  may,  after  we  were 
engaged  to  be  married,  Miss  Woodberry  became  curious  to 
know  what  her  fate  would  be;  she  had  accepted  me  without 
much  regard  to  consequences.  Now,  after  the  acceptance, 
when  the  consequences  were  close  at  hand,  she  became  more 
solicitous  to  understand  her  position.  She  had  only  been  a 
visitor  in  Co-opolis  and  had  been  a  guest  of  the  Prestons, 
whom  I  have  already  described  as  my  near  neighbors.  Dur 
ing  this  visit  she  had  been  engaged  in  writing  a  novel, 
which  she  read  as  the  chapters  were  completed  to  me.  I 
was  impressed  with  its  merit  and  believed  some  of  its  pas 
sages  breathed  the  spirit  of  genius.  However,  although  I 
judged  myself  a  dispassionate  and  unsparing  critic,  I  would 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  105 

not  trust  my  judgment  upon  the  production  of  one  who  was 
prejudiced  in  her  favor.  I  persuaded  her  to  allow  me  to 
submit  her  manuscript  to  a  committee  of  my  department 
for  its  criticism,  with  a  view  to  arranging  for  its  publication 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Co-opolitan  Association.  As  this 
committee  had  proven  whenever  it  deemed  a  work  suffi 
ciently  meritorious  to  warrant  it,  to  proceed  with  its  publi 
cation  and  defray  the  expenses  from  the  so-called  publica 
tion  fund,  it  occurred  to  me  that,  if  my  judgment  should 
be  approved,  this  novel  could  be  published  by  our  depart 
ment  and  would  distinguish  the  admission  of  its  author  into 
the  Association.  We  had,  up  to  that  time,  never  under 
taken  the  publication  of  a  novel,  but  our  plant  was  suffi 
ciently  extensive  and  commodious  to  enable  us  to  do  so. 
Hitherto  we  were  contented  to  confine  our  publications  to 
text  books  for  our  schools,  a  monthly  magazine  devoted  to 
co-operation,  the  Daily  Co-opolitan  and  a  large  number  of 
pamphlets.  To  my  great  joy  the  committee,  composed  of 
the  very  brightest  literary  men  in  the  city,  including  our 
educational  chief,  Mr.  Edmunds,  pronounced  it  a  produc 
tion  of  such  merit  as  to  be  worthy  of  publication  at  the 
public  expense.  I  had  not  disclosed  to  them  the  name  of 
the  author  and  they  supposed  it  was  some  member. 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  when  this  decision  was  com 
municated  to  me  I  went  over  to  the  Preston  cottage  to  see 
my  affianced  and  tell  her  the  result  of  my  venture  with  the 
committee.  She  was  delighted  with  the  news.  It  was  her 
first  novel,  and  to  find  that  the  committee  had  received  it 
with  favor  was  an  event  which,  as  she  often  told  me,  gave 
her  more  genuine  pleasure  than  anything  ever  did  before 
or  has  since.  We  spent  an  hour  or  more  that  evening  talk 
ing  over  the  novel,  its  characters  and  plot. 

The  name  was  "The  West  Parish."  The  opening  scene 
was  laid  in  the  West  Parish  of  Gloucester,  Cape  Ann, 
Essex  County,  Massachusetts.  There  were,  as  everybody 
knows,  wonderful  descriptions  of  white  sandy  beaches,  the 
blue  old  ocean, -ships  sailing,  marshes  and  sea  birds  a-wing. 
There  were  two  little  boys  and  an  old  aunt.  The  former 


106  THE   CO-OPOLITAN. 

were  orphans,  the  latter  infirm  and  impoverished,  but  doing 
her  best,  which  was  as 'bad  as  could  be,  to  keep  the  little 
ones  alive.  Their  father  had  been  a  railroad  engineer,  but 
a  series  of  misfortunes  deprived  him  of  his  savings,  and 
then,  in  one  of  the  perils  common  to  his  dangerous  employ 
ment,  he  was  killed  and  the  mother  soon  after  died. 

These  little  ones,  without  means  and  without  the  sympa 
thy  of  the  multitudes,  who,  in  their  desperation  in  the 
struggle  for  bread,  forgot  or-  did  not  see  them,  were  sent  to 
this  aunt.  That  poor  old  woman  had  griefs  enough  of  her 
own.  Her  life  was  well  nigh  worked  out.  She  had  neither 
nerves  nor  strength.  Her  limbs  were  stiff  and  rheumatic. 
Her  eyes  were  dim  and  her  aged  back  was  bent.  In  her 
mean  little  cottage  by  the  roadside  at  Annisquan  she  had  all 
she  could  do  to  nurse  the  fading  embers  of  her  life's  fires, 
and  she  was  now  expected  to  support  these  two  little  in 
fants,  o^.e  three  and  one  five  years  of-  age.  She  was  cross 
to  them,  but  she  did  not  mean  to  be.  She  was  very  im 
patient  and  she  did  not  know  it.  She  did  not  take  them 
into  her  arms  as  a  mother  would,  but  that  never  occurred  to 
her.  And  yet  she  loved  them,  but  the  power  of  expressing 
love  had  long  been  crushed  out  by  poverty. 

So  one  day  these  two  ragged,  half-fed  little  boys,  with 
their  tear-bestained  cheeks  and  great  eyes,  made  more  ex 
pressive  by  being  set  in  the  pale  faces  pinched  by  want, 
started  out  from  the  old  aunt's  house  in  search  of  a  place 
their  mother  used  to  tell  them  about  which  was  called 
Heaven,  where  she  said  their  papa  was.  The  children  were 
afterward  found  nearly  starved  to  death  lying  near  the 
roadside  seven  miles  from  home  by  some  charitably  dis 
posed  persons,  who  fed  them  and  subsequently  caused  them 
to  be  placed  in  an  orphan  asylum,  where  they  were  kept 
and  given  a  meagre  education  suitable  to  their  lowly  finan 
cial  condition.  When  they  were  large  and  strong  enough 
they  were  sent  to  the  West  and  placed  in  the  charge  of 
farmers,  but  were  widely  separated.  The  author  traced  the 
development  of  each.  Both  were  naturally  possessed  of 
powerful  minds.  One  became  a  money  maker,  the  other 


THE   CO-OPOLITAN.  107 

the  champion  of  a  new  system  for  the  development  of  his 
race.  One  was  a  great  banker  and  amassed  millions.  The 
other  was  a  great  co-operator  and  occupied  a  high  station 
in  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth.  She  carried  her  story 
into  the  future  that  she  might  picture  conditions  which 
had  not  yet  obtained. 

In  those  days  it  was  a  favorite  method  of  illustrating 
economic  principles,  and  had  been  made  quite  fashionable 
by  Bellamy's  famous,  work  called  "Looking  Backward." 
Miss  Woodberry's  novel  was  not  so  remarkable  for  its  plot 
as  for  the  vivid  contrast  which  it  presented  between  the 
competitive  and  co-opera  live  system,  and  so  powerfully  %did 
her  pen  draw  the  picture  That  while  the  brother  who  gave 
his  life  to  the  one,  though  not  worse  than  most  of  its  sup 
porters,  seemed  possessed  of  a  demon  of  greed;  the  brother 
who  gave  his  life  to  the  other  appeared  to  be  no  more  nor 
less  than  a  man.  This  novel  seemed  to  me  then,  as  it  does 
now,  both  instructive  and  artistic  and  equal  to  any  of  those 
which  my  wife  has  written  since. 

"What  shall  we  do  now?"  asked  Miss  Woodberry.  "You 
have  obtained  a  favorable  criticism  and  the  Association  will 
publish  the  novel.  What  advantage  will  it  give  me  or  you 
to  do  so?" 

"I  shall  urge  you  first  to  make  an  application  for  mem 
bership,"  I  replied.  "Although  you  were  not  a  citizen  of 
Idaho  nor  a  member  of  the  National  Brotherhood,  you  will 
find  that  your  accomplishments  and  this  novel  will  gain  you 
immediate  admission." 

"Yes!"  exclaimed  she.  "But  what  else?  Does  not  the 
Co-opolitan  Association  provide  for  some  retward  for  a 
meritorious  v\ork?" 

"The  Co-opolitan  Association  will  endeavor  to  be  just," 
I  replied.  "In  the  case  of  Dupont,  the  man  who  invented 
the  Dupont  motorcycle,  which  has  brought -us  a  large  ac 
cession  of  wealth,  the  Legislative  Council  has  allowed  him 
a  five  years'  furlough  and  he  is  now  traveling  in  Europe, 
but  draws  his  full  pay  on  the  Industrial  Army.  Dupont  has 
decided  to  take  onlv  one  year  now  and  then  the  rest  of  his 


108  THE   CO-OPOLITAN. 

time  hereafter.  Then  there  is  Dr.  James,  who  received  a 
furlough  of  three  months  and  an  advance  of  $1,200.00 
from  his  next  three  years'  pay,  for  special  merit  and  ex 
traordinary  services  of  a  professional  character.  We  have  a 
system  of  rewarding  those  who  display  special  merit  or  who 
by  some  new  invention  add  to  the  wealth,  comfort  or 
power  of  the  Association. 

"Our  Legislative  Council  requests  each  department  chief 
to  present,  every  three  months,  the  names  of  members  most 
deserving  of  reward,  and  after  fully  and  fairly  informing 
themselves  as  to  the  work,  art  or  production  recommended, 
dispenses  its  rewards  according  touts  best  judgment.  At  the 
last  meeting  of  the  Legislative  Council  for  this  purpose  ten 
men  in  my  department  were  rewarded.  One  got  six  weeks 
rest,  another  two  months,  a  third  one  week  and  others  vari 
ous  terms  of  respite.  This  was  in  addition  to  the  vacation. 
I  am  not  in  the  habit  of  selecting  these  ten  myself.  I  leave 
that  to  my  foreman  and  in  doing  so  avoid  jealousies.  I 
shall  not  recommend  you,  but  I  believe  this  novel  will  sug 
gest  to  the  Legislative  Council  the  propriety  of  a  reward/' 

This  reference  to  her  entering  some  department  sug 
gested  the  old  discussion  again  of  whether  she  would  apply 
or  not.  She  was  very  much  attached  to  the  Association  and 
believed  it  would  ultimately  own  the  entire  state,  but  she 
was  not  sure,  she  said,  that  she  .ought  to  become  absorbed 
in  it.  We  considered  that  we  might  marry  and  that  I  could 
supply  the  house  from  my  income  and  she  could,  if  her 
novel  was  successful  from  a  financial  point  of  view,  do  othei 
literary  work  at  home  and  for  ourselves.  But  she  was  not 
committed  to  this  view,  nor  were  her  opinions  fixed.  How 
ever,  she  finalry  agreed  with  me  in  the  belief  that  her  life 
could  be  made  far  more  useful  as  a  member  than  as  an  indi 
vidual.  We  agreed  that  if  both  were  employed  by  the  Asso 
ciation  our  united  efforts  would  bring  us  twenty-four  hun 
dred  dollars  a  year  so  long  as  twelve  hundred  dollars  was 
each  member's  income.  I  had  long  before  converted  all  the 
property  which  I  had  inherited  into  cash  of  the  gold  and 
silver  kind  and  had  turned  it  over  to  the  Association  with 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  109 

the  understanding  that  I  would  be  permitted  to  withdraw 
it  in  amounts  not  greater  than  $1,200.00  per  annum,  if  I 
so  desired.  The  Association  paid  nothing  for  its  use,  but 
agreed  to  furnish,,  on  the  terms  stated,  goods,  wares,  labor 
checks  or  orders  instead  of  money,  or  even  money,  if  the 
proper  affidavit  and  application  for  money  was  filed. 

Aunt  Lydia  had  also  been  economical  in  expenditures  for 
the  house,  so  that  my  expenses  for  two  years  had  only  been 
two  thousand  dollars,  and  I  had  a  thousand  dollars  in  un 
expended  labor-credit  checks.  This  was  also  left  with  the 
Association,  undrawn,  so  that  the  Association  was  indebted 
to  me  in  the  sum  of  $11,000.00.  My  affianced  wife,  as  well 
as  myself,  was  anxious  to  visit  Europe  and  Asia,  and  this 
fund  of  $11,000.00  we  calculated  would  enable  us  to  do 
so  without  pinching  ourselves  while  abroad.  It  was  not 
possible  to  pinch  ourselves  at  home,  because  at  this  time 
every  department  was  accomplishing  wonders  in  the  pro 
duction  of  wealth. 

Caroline  made  her  application  the  next  day.  Being 
neither  a  citizen  of  Idaho  nor  a  member  of  the  Brother 
hood,  she  was  obliged  to  pass  an  examination  as  to  health, 
opinions  and  wealth.  The  first  was  found  to  be  perfect. 
The  second  showed  her  to  be  fully  acquainted  with  co 
operative  principles  and  the  main  features  of  our  peculiar 
system.  Wealth  she  had  none.  But  she  had  what  was  bet 
ter  than  wealth.  She  had  talent.  -She  had  education.  She 
had  some  experience  in  teaching  and  was  a  skillful  stenog 
rapher.  She  was  accepted  and  enrolled  in  the  Educational 
department.  This  was  in  June  and  her  services  were  not  re 
quired  until  September  in  that  department.  She  was,  how 
ever,  placed  on  the  pay  roll  and  given  her  vacation  period 
at  once.  It  did  not  concern  the  department  whether  her 
school  year  began  or  closed  with  a  season  of  rest.  I,  too. 
was  entitled  to  a  vacation  of  four  weeks  each  year, and  it  was 
usual  for  me  to  take  it  in  July  or  August.  Ordinarilyl-spent 
it  in  the  vicinity  of  the  great  lakes  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  state  or  with  parties  of  excursionists  in  the  mountains. 
This  y ear  I  designed  to  visit  New  England  and  to  take  with 


110  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

me  my  wife.  Caroline  was  agreeable  to  this  plan  and  I 
made  all  arrangements  accordingly. 

In  the  latter  part  of  June  we  were  married  and  on  the 
very  same  day,  as  a  part  of  the  celebration,  the  work  of  put 
ting  the  new  novel  into  type  was  begun.  It  was  a  joyful  oc 
casion.  The  wedding  ceremony  was  performed  at  my  house 
in  Co-opolis  and  Governor  Thompson  did  me  the  honor  to 
officiate.  It  was  not  a  public  affair.  Members  of  the  Legis 
lative  Council,  Governor  Thompson  and  the  members  of 
my  departmental  staff  and  their  wives  were  present  at  the 
wedding  feast,  which  was  spread  at  the  Co-opolitan  Hotel. 
That  evening  my  wife  and  I  took  a  special  car  at  11:30 
o'clock  on  the  Co-opolis  Southern  Electric  Railroad  for 
Boise  City,  from  which  place  we  went  to  Nampa,  met  the 
early  morning  east-bound  train  on  the  Union  Pacific  and 
proceeded  on  our  wedding  trip. 

We  were  absent  until  the  middle  of  August  and  were 
glad  enough  to  return.  I  say  we  were  glad  to  return,  but 
this  does  not  mean  that  our  trip  was  unpleasant.  We  were 
like  people  of  refinement  who  gayly  abandon  the  luxurious 
surroundings  of  a  beautiful  Christian  home  and,  returning 
to  the  primitive  habits  of  their  savage  ancestry,  descend, 
for  a  short  season,  to  the  novelty  of  camp  life.  However 
enjoyable  such  life  may  seem  for  a  season  there  comes  a 
time,  and  that  speedily,  when  the  novelty  wears  off,  and  life 
in  the  civilized  world  is*  all  the  more  pleasurable  by  com 
parison.  So  you  descend  into  the  regions  of  commercial 
competition;  the  waste  regions  and  desert  lands  of  specula 
tion;  the  world  \vhere  old  men  and  women  are  left  to  die 
in  poverty  after  a  life  of  usefulness;  where  little  children, 
innocent  of  wrong,  are  trained  4fiily  to  sin,  or  are  starved 
to  death  in  sight  of  plenty.  We  Ifrere  glad  to  return  to  Co- 
opolis  and  take  up  our  labors  in  a  land  where  we  could  not 
hope  to  acquire  more  of  the  world's  good  than  we  could  use, 
but  where  we  could  be  sure  that  we  and  ours  would  not  be 
compelled  to  try  subsistence  on  less  than  we  needed,  and 
where  every  human  being  was  guaranteed  "the  inalienable 
rights  of  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness." 


CHAPTEK  XVII. 

THE  UNITED  STATES  CONVEYS  PUBLIC  LAND  TO  THE 
STATES-THE  CO-OPOLITAN  ASSOCIATION  RECLAIMS 
THE  SNAKE  RIVER  VALLEY— A  GREAT  AND  BENEFI 
CENT  ENTERPRISE. 

The  year  1905  witnessed  the  inauguration  of  two  im 
portant  enterprises  in  Idaho,  each  of  which  has  contributed 
immeasurably  to  the  development  of  the  Co-operative  Com 
monwealth.  Both  were  proposed,  superintended  and  owned 
by  the  Co-opolitan  Association.  The  first  was  the  irriga 
tion,  cultivation  and  settlement  of  the  Snake  River  Valley. 
This  valley  at  that  time  was  noted  for  its  wonderful  scenery, 
its  broad  expanse  of  uncultivated  and  unoccupied  land,  and 
the  majestic  river  which  swept  swiftly  through  it.  All 
public  lands  belonging  to  the  United  States  had,  the  year 
before,  been  granted  to  the  various  states  in  which  they 
were  situated,  each  state  being  required  to  pay  two  cents  an 
acre  to  the  Federal  government  therefor.  Some  of  the 
states  proceeded  to  pay  at  once  and  receive  the  patent  for 
the  lands  so  granted,  and  to*  dispose  of  the  same  to  settlers. 

Among  those  which  paid  for  their  acquisitions  promptly 
was  Idaho.  But'  the  money  to  pay,  amounting  to  one  mil 
lion  three  hundred  and  eighty-six  thousand  dollars,  was  ad 
vanced  to  Idaho  by  the  Co-opolitan  Association.  This  ad 
vance,  let  it  be  understood,  was  not  a  loan.  The  state  gov 
ernment  could  not  borrow  money.  But  the  Co-opolitan 
Association  had  become  so  powerful  and  exercised  such  en 
tire  and  absolute  control  over  the  state  government  that 
when  it  advanced  this  amount  it  was  well  understood  that 
it  was  able  to  reimburse  itself  at  will.  The  state  now  ac 
quired  the  public  lands  of  the  Federal  government,  but  was 
powerless  to  improve  them.  What  should  be  done*? 


112  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

The  Great  Council  had  met  during  the  first  half  of  the 
year,  and  its  members  were  all  Co-opolitans  except  eleven. 
It  realized  that  it  would  be  open  to  severe  criticism  outside 
of  the  state  if  it  should  grant  the  newly  acquired  lands  to 
the  Co-opolitan  Association,  whether  for  a  consideration  or 
gratuitously.  It  did  not  concern  Idaho  what  the  world  be 
yond  its  territory  thought,  except  that  we  were  all  anxious 
that  mankind,  for  its  own  good,  should  not  be  misled  as 
to  the  benefits  of  co-operation.  Before  that  session  of  the 
Great  Council  was  closed  a  petition,  signed  by  more  than 
twenty  per  cent  of  the  voters  of  the  state,  was  submitted  to 
the  Governor,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Great  Council 
itself,  asking  that  the'simple  question  of  whether  the  pub 
lic  lands  of  the  state  should  be  granted  in  fee  simple  abso 
lute  to  the  Co-opolitan  Association  on  condition  that  the 
Association  improve  the  same,  be  submitted  to  popular  vote 
at  the  October  election.  Under  our  law  it  was  the  duty  of 
the  Goveinor,  if  such  petition  was  properly  signed,  to  sub 
mit  the  question  proposed  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  it  was 
done  accordingly. 

This  was  not  the  first  time  the  people  had  by  petition 
initiated  legislation,  but  it  .was  the  most  important  question 
thus  far  submitted.  There  was  no  doubt  as  to  the  result, 
because  the  Co-opolitan  Association  embraced  nearly  all 
the  people  of  the  state  except  something  like  fifty  thousand 
who  were  scattered  along  the  boundaries  of  Montana  and 
Wyoming,  being  principally  placer  miners  and  cattle  men. 
Even  among  these  there  were  many  inclined  to  favor  the 
grant.  But  the  question  was  very  fully  discussed.  The 
Pnily  Co-opolitan,  under  my  charge,  presented  the  argu 
ments  on  all  sides.  Evenr  company  in  the  Industrial  Army 
was  required  to  attend  at  least  three  meetings  before  elec 
tion  day,  at  which  the  question  was  debated  by  the  ablest 
debaters  we  could  find,  and  on  election  .day  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  the  voters  who  were  ignorant  of  the  merits  of  this  ques 
tion  were  exceedingly  few.  The  election  resulted  in  a  vote 
of  two  hundred  and  sixtee'n  thousand  five  hundred  and 
three  for  and  seven  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  113 

against  the  grant.  The  decision  of  the  people  thus  regis 
tered  was  the  law  of  the  state  and  was  sufficient  in  itself  to 
pass  the  title  in  all  this  land  to  the  Association,  but  the  for 
mality  of  issuing  the  patent  was  enacted  when  the  Great 
Council  met  the  following  January. 

Great  were  the  preparations  the  day  after  election  for 
the  work  of  reclaiming  the  Snake  Eiver  Valley.  The  Leg 
islative  Council  was  in  constant  session  arranging  the  de 
tails  of  an  industrial  occupation  of  a  new  and  broader  do 
main.  The  Engineering  department  had  long  before  pro 
cured  complete  surveys  of  all  the  public  lands,  and  more 
especially  of  this  valley.  A  final  survey  had  been  made  for 
an  extensive  system  of  irrigation  flumes,  canals  and  ditches, 
together  with  reservoirs  for  the  collection  and  storage  of 
surface  waters,  as  well  as  the  waters  diverted  from  the  river. 
Four  thousand  men  were  dispatched,  under  the  charge  of 
the  proper  departments,  to  commence  the  work  and  make 
excavations  along  the  survey  at  such  points  as  they  could 
work  most  conveniently,  and  when  the  freezing  of  the 
ground  in  the  latter  part  of  NDvember  made  further  work 
in  that  direction  impracticable  the  army  returned  to  Co- 
opolis  and  the  companies- composing  it  were  sent  to  their 
several  home  cities  and  engaged  in  other  employment. 

When  springtime  came — the  spring  of  190(5 — the  work 
upon  the  irrigating  system  of  Snake  River  Valley  was  again 
resumed  with  an  increased  force.  It  was  prosecuted  witli 
such  vigor  that  when  the  snow  began  to  fly  again  the  whole 
system  was  completed  and  constituted  the  most  extensive 
of  the  kind  on  the  American  continent.  The  result  was  that 
one  million  acres  of  land  as  fertile  as  any  in  the  world,  not 
excepting  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  were  made  available  for  use 
for  agricultural  purposes  and  all  of  this  was  the  property 
of  the  Co-opolitan  Association.  The  whole  of  this  broad 
area  was  now  turned  over  to  the  Agricultural  department. 
The  Transportation  department  was  also  instructed  to  ex 
tend  the  Co-opolis  Southern  Electric  Railroad  the  entire 
length  of  the  valley,  and  in  two  years  from  the  time  the  first 
work  was  done  on  the  irrigating  system  that  marvelous  re- 


114  THE   CO-OPOLITAN. 

gion  was  changed  from  a  wilderness  into  a  productive  and 
beautiful  garden. 

The  history  of  the  Snake  River  region  since  then  has 
been  one  of  the  most  startling  illustrations  of  the  power  of 
co-operation  and  the  quantity  of  literature  devoted  to  the 
description  of  the  valley,  its  people,  its  productivity,  its 
cities,  roads,  system  and  methods  in  all  the  countries  and 
languages  of  the  civilized  world  show  how  deep  an  impres 
sion  this  magnificent  product  of  co-operation  has  made. 
But  the  wealth  which  this  valley  added  each  year  to  the 
Co-opolitan  Association  enabled  us  to  carry  the  industrial 
war  forward  with  a  celerit}r  not  anticipated.  The  Agricul 
tural  department  now— 1909 — had  under  its  control  three 
million  five  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  devoted  to 
agriculture,  five  hundred  thousand  acres  devoted  to  fruit 
and  at  least  eight  million  devoted  to  grazing. 

The  C  y-opolitan  Association  was  and  is  the  most  suc 
cessful  farmer  in  the  world!  No  wonder!  There  stand 
between  it  and  the  consumer  no  middleman  and  no  manu 
facturer.  Its  own  labor  marrufactures  most  of  its  own  farm 
tools  and  machinery.  It  feeds,  clothes  and  shelters  its  own 
farm  hands,  and  both  produces  and  manufactures  food 
and  clothing.  All  represent  to  it  the  cost  of  labor  only. 
The  wheat  produced  cost  the  Association  in  1909  only 
about  five  cents  per  bushel  to  produce.  This  estimate  is 
based  upon  the  cost  of  machinery  imported  from  other 
states  and  paid  for  with  metallic  money.  But  even  this  was 
too  high  an  estimate,  because  when  a  machine  was  once  im 
ported  our  mechanics  kept  it  in  constant  repair,  while  other 
farmers  using  machinery  are  continually  paying  out  money 
to  keep  it  in  serviceable  condition. 

We  paid  nothing  but  labor.  Other  farmers  were  com 
pelled  to  sell  their  wheat  at  the  lowest  cash  price  paid  by 
traders  and  speculators,  who  invariably  received  a  large 
profit.  We  obtained  that  profit  ourselves.  Other  farmers 
saw  their  wheat  ground  into  flour  and  sold  at  a  profit  by  the 
manufacturer  to  the  wholesale  dealer,  who  again  sold  at  a 
profit  to  the  retailer,  and  the  retailer  added  a  profit  and 


THE   CO-OPOLITAN.  115 

sold  to  the  farmer.  We  received  all  this  profit.  The  only 
cost  to  us  of  a  barrel  of  flour  was  the  cost  of  such  ma 
chinery  as  I  have  described  and  the  cost  of  transportation. 
The  Brotherhood  stores  at  that  time  sold  all  our  surplus  on 
commission.  At  the  time  of  writing  this — 1917 — the  cost 
of  producing  a  barrel  of  flour  at  the  great  Shoshone  flour 
mills  is,  of  course,  nothing,  the  farm  machinery,  mill  ma 
chinery  and  all  devices  used  in  connection  with  such  manu 
facture  being  manufactured  by  the  Association. 

The  facts  which  I  have  thus  briefly  stated  must  make  it 
apparent  that  we  were,  as  early  as  1909,  and  even  before 
that  time,  in  a  position  which  was  entirely  unassailable  by 
competitors  who  had  not  placed  themselves  on  a  similar 
foundation.  Our  system  was  in  a  condition  to  challenge 
the  whole  industrial  world  in  a  free  and  fair  field.  We 
could  and  did  undersell  every  business  house  in  all  Idaho 
and  the  competitive  system,  unable  to  compete  against  us, 
had  fled  from  the  state.  Its  case  was  hopeless.  It  had  no 
footing,  and  never  could  have.  It  recognized  capital  as 
master  and  labor  as  its  humble  servant.  Our. system  re 
versed  the  order  and  recognized  labor  as  master  and  capital 
as  its  creature  and  its  obedient  servant.  For  this  reason 
labor  came  lo  us  and  capital  without  labor  was  powerless. 
Already  this  condition  in  Idaho  was  affecting  all  adjoining 
states.  The  Co-operative  system  was,  after  ten  years  of 
honest  trial,  so  strong,  and  so  wondrously  beautiful  in  its 
strength,  that,  overleaping  the  bounds  of  the  co-operative 
state,  it  was  infecting  Oregon  and  Washington,  and  col 
onies  framed  upon  the  model  of  the  Co-opolitan  Associa 
tion  were  pouring  into  those  states.  But  of  that  I  have 
something  to  say  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

PUBLICATION  OF  MRS.  BRADEN'S  NOVEL-THE  PROFITS  OP 
THE  ASSOCIATION  AND  REWARD  OF  THE  AUTHOR-^ 
THE  PUBLISHING  DEPARTMENT  EXTENDS  ITS  SPHERE. 

The  Messenger  and  Publishing  department,  as  I  have 
previously  stated,  was  under  my  especial  charge.  Up  to  the 
time  Miss  Woodberry,  now  Mrs.  Braden,  had  given  permis 
sion  to  have  her  novel  submitted  to  a  Co-opolitan  commit 
tee,  and  that  committee  had  reported  favorably  upon  the 
proposition  to  publish  it,  I  had  conducted  this  department 
upon  the  .iiost  conservative  lines.  I  confess  that,  even  then, 
the  vastness  of  the  power  of  co-operative  labor  to  overcome 
all  obstacles  was  not  fully  comprehended  by  me.  I  had  as 
yet  but  dimly  recognized  that  the  combined  strength  of 
labor  directed  to  the  accomplishment  of  a  definite  purpose 
was  simply  irresistible.  Business  in  the  competitive  world 
which  involves  the  sale  and  delivery  of  large  accumulations 
of  property,  real  or  fictitious,  is  transacted  upon  a  ridicu 
lously  narrow  financial  basis,  and  must  necessarily  be  con 
ducted  with  extreme  caution.  But  where  the  fiction  of 
money  is  abolished  and  the  intercourse  among  men  rests 
upon  the  basis  of  labor  exchange,  which  is  as  broad  as  the 
earth  itself,  and  as  fair  as  perfect  justice,  there  need  be  no 
fear  of  setting  in  motion  every  productive  energy  available. 
Too  much  of  what  men  need  or  ought  to  have  can  never 
impoverish  them. 

My  wife's  novel  was  placed  upon  the  market  for  sale  in 
due  season.  The  Daily  Co-opolitan  announced  its  appear 
ance  and  contained  an  able  and  very  flattering  criticism  of 
it  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Edmunds.  The  first  was  a  cheap 
edition  of  twenty  thousand  copies,  and  FO  great  was  the 
pride  of  all  Idaho  in  this  first  literary  work  in  the  line  of 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  117 

fiction  which  could  be  considered  distinctively  Co-opolitan 
that  the  entire  edition  was  exhausted  before 'any  could  be 
shipped  out  of  the  state.  This  edition  was  sold  for  twenty 
cents  a  copy  in  labor-credit  checks  or  industrial  orders  or 
money.  But  the  demand  was  so  great  from  the  Brotherhood 
all  over  the  country  for  this  novel  that  I  was  compelled  to 
have  another  edition  of  100,000  copies  struck  off,  and  this 
was  gotten  up  with  so  much  greater  ornamentation  and  in 
so  much  better  style  that  I  thought  proper  to  have  the  price 
fixed  at  fifty  cents  a  copy.  The  book  had  been  commented 
upon  favorably  by  all  the  newspapers  and  magazines  of  the 
United  States  and  England,  and  not  only  the  Brotherhood 
but  the  entire  literary  world  was  anxious  to  read  it.  The 
time  was  especially  favorable  to  render  it  exceedingly  popu 
lar.  It  was  just  beginning  to  dawn  upon  civilized  human 
ity  that  Idaho  was  producing  marvels  in  co-operative  indus 
try,  and  that  a  new  civilization  was  born.  "The  West  Par 
ish"  was  a  masterly  presentation  of  the  Co-operator's  case 
against  the  competitor  and  had  a  powerful  effect  in  con 
victing  the  latter,  before  the  tribunal  of  Christian  civiliza 
tion,  of  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors.  The  second  edi- 
.tion  was  exhausted  as  swiftly,  almost,  as  water  sinks  in  sand. 
Again  I  was  called  upon  to  supply  the  unsatisfied  demand  of 
the  American  reader.  Its  high  literary  merit,  the  picture  it 
drew  of  Utopia  realized,  the  remedy  it  pointed  out  from 
the  standard  of  an  actual  modern  experience,  the  relief  it 
offered  to  millions  of  starving  men  and  women  made  it  the 
sensation  of  the  day.  All  classes  read  it.  Even  the  con 
servative  business  man  who,  twenty  years  before,  had,  rather 
vainly,  boasted  that  he  had  escaped  reading  "Looking 
Backward,"  quietly  bought  a  copy  of  "The  West  Parish," 
and,  after  reading  it,  handed  it,  without  comment,  to  his 
neighbor. 

I  now  found  that  these  two  editions  of  the  first  publi 
cation  of  my  department,  in  the  book  line,  had  added 
$40,000.00  in  United  States  money  to  the  accumulations  of 
my  department,  and  this  I  turned  over  to  the  Legislative 
Council,  according  to  law.  Again  I  printed  an  edition  of 


118  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

one  million  copies.  This  .was  prepared  in  much  cheaper 
style,  and  by  advice  of  our  Legislative  Council,  whose  ad 
vice  I  had  asked,  I  placed  this  edition  in  every  book  store 
and  on  every  news  stand  in  the  United  States  at  five  cents 
a  copy.  This  I  did  because  it  was  now  apparent  that  it  was 
producing  a  great  awakening  among  the  people,  and  I  de 
sired,  or  rather,  I  should  say,  we  desired,  that  the  poor  who 
had  no  means  might  also  read.  But  we  realized  a  profit 
even  at  that  price,  and  we  knew  no  better  way  to  destroy  the 
profit  system  than  to  take  its  profit. 

We  fought  the  devil  with  fire,  and  had  a  theory  that  if 
we  could  gain  control  of  his  fire  we  could  extinguish  it. 

The  million  edition  of  "The  West  Parish"  was  taken 
rapidly  by  the  class  for  which  it  was  intended  and  the  Pub 
lishing  department  realized  the  sum  of  $30,000.00  from 
that  source  after  paying  cost  of  transportation.  I  now 
placed  an  3dition  upon  the  market  for  standard  use  consist 
ing  of  twenty  thousand  copies,  finely  illustrated  and  ele 
gantly  printed  and  bound.  This  was  sold  at  one  dollar  per 
copy,  although  in  the  competitive  system  it  would  have 
been  difficult  for  the  publisher  to  have  sold  that  edition  on 
the  market  for  three  dollars  a  volume  and  to  have  realized  a 
profit. 

My  wife's  fame,  of  course,  was  now  world-wide. 
Wherever  the  English  language  was  read  her  name  had 
become  a  household  word.  Her  novel  had  also  been  trans 
lated  into  most  of  the  languages  of  Europe  and  was  working 
its  way  throughout  the  countries  which  described  them 
selves  as  Christian,  although  more  slowly  than  in  England 
and  the  United  States.  The  Co-opolitan  Association  was 
mindful  of  her  incalculably  great  service  to  the  cause  of 
co-operation  which  it  regarded  as  its  own  and  at  the  proper 
time,  without  any  department  recommending  it,  the  Legis 
lative  Council  considered  the  propriety  of  offering  her  a 
reward  which  her  work  and  her  genius  merited. 

What  should  it  be?  The  mechanic  who  invented  a  labor- 
saving  device  or  machine,  the  artist  whose  painting  had 
displayed  extraordinary  merit,  the  sculptor  whose  genius 


THE   CO-OPOLITAN.  119 

had  chiseled  in  marble  some  living  thought,  the  self-sacri 
fice  of  some  hero  in  a  moment  of  peril,"  all  these  merited 
reward,  and  our  Association  had  dealt  and  knew  how  to 
deal  with  these. 

But  here  the  work  had  not  been  of  moment  so  much  be 
cause  of  its  allurement  of  wealth  as  its  supreme  value  as  an 
educator.  The  Legislative  Council  considered  that  she  was 
entitled  to  five  years'  release  from  duty  as  a  member  of  the 
Industrial  Army,  and  so  awarded.  She  was  entitled  to  this 
time  at  once  and  continuously,  if  she  so  notified  her  depart 
ment  chief,  Mr.  Edmunds,  or  she  could  give  notice  that  she 
would  take  a  portion  of  the  time  between  certain  dates.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  she  chose  two  years'  release  and  leave  of 
absence  commencing  January  1st,  1907,  and  the  remainder 
of  her  time  later  in  her  twenty-five  years'  term  of  service. 

Having  discovered  the  power  which  my  department 
could  wield,  not  only  in  Idaho,  but  in' the  world,  I  deter 
mined  to  exercise  it  to  the  fullest  extent.  Linotypes,  elec 
troplates  and  all  the  devices  for  saving  labor  were  unspar 
ingly  employed. 

I  determined  to  put  a  Co-opolitan  edition  of  all  standard 
works  of  all  spheres  or  departments,  literary,  scientific,  re 
ligious  and  political,  on  the  American  market  in  every  great 
city. 

I  began  with  Shakespeare.  I  caused  an  elegant  edition 
of  that  immortal  poet's  work  to  be  gotten  up  in  excellent 
style,  and  sold  for  about  two-thirds  what  it  would  cost  any 
other  house  in  the  United  States  to  produce.  I  increased 
my  plant  and  followed  the  edition  of  Shakespeare  in  quick 
succession  and  at  similarly  reduced  prices,  with  editions  of 
all  the  standard  English  authors. 

In  three  years'  time  I  had  Co-opolitan  book  stores  estab 
lished  in  Boston,  Xew  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore, 
\Vasliington,  Buffalo,  Cincinnati,  Chicago,  St.  Louis.  St. 
Paul,  Minneapolis,  Omaha,  Atlanta,  Xew  Orleans,  Galves- 
ton,  Denver,  San  Francisco,  Portland  and  Seattle.  The 
competitive  publishing  houses  could  not  compete  with  our 
system  and  house  after  house  fell  before  us  or  limited  their 


120  THE   CO-OPOLITAN. 

business.  I  also  established  correspondents  all  through  the 
world  and  had  the  latest  news  sent  to  the  Co-opolitan  news 
paper. 

My  arrangements  were  such,  in  conjunction  with  the 
Brotherhood  and  Co-operative  stores  now  springing  up 
everywhere,  that  I  had  a  Daily  Co-opolitan  issued  in  every 
one  of  the  cities  named,  and  the  news  was  flashed  to  them 
daily,  as  it  was  to  Co-opolis.  I  endeavored  to  have  each 
Daily  Co-opolitan  in  the  hands  of  the  national  Brother 
hood  and  each  was  issued  on  the  plan  of  the  great  daily 
which  was  sent  from  Co-opolis  to  all  parts  of  Idaho.  The 
national  Brotherhood  was  daily  increasing  in  numbers  and 
power. 

My  idea  in  extending  branches  of  my  department  was  to 
aid  the  national  organization  in  destroying  competition. 
How  well  I  have  succeeded  the  years  have  proved.  The 
publications  of  the  *Co-opolitan  Association  have  displaced 
all  others  and  have  brought  millions  to  the  safe  in  the  base 
ment  of  the  Council  Hall. 

My  department  was  divided  in  1910  and  I  was  confined 
to  one  portion  called  the  Publishing  department.  A  new 
department,  including  the  messenger,  telegraph,  telephone 
and  postal  service,  was  created  and  Jarvis  Richardson  was 
elected  its  chief.  I  would  be  glad  to  comment  upon  the 
glorious  administration  of  that  new  department,  by  that 
great  and  good  man,  but  the  scope  of  my  present  work  does 
not  permit.  Necessarily  in  such  a  wrork  as  this  I  can  but 
give  the  reader  the  most  salient  features  of  my  own  per 
sonal  experience  which  tend  to  throw  light  upon  the  devel 
opment  of  Idaho  under  the  Co-opolitan  control. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE   STRANGER   FROM   LONDON-BOISE   CITY  BONDS  AND 
A  LOAN-THE  PERIL  OF  IDAHO. 

The  year  1906  should  be  considered  one  of  the  most 
memorable  in  the  history  of  Co-operation,  more  on  account 
of  the  great  peril  in  which  our  system  was  placed  than  on 
account  of  any  extraordinary  undertaking.  Yet  perhaps  I 
ought  not  to  say  that  the  year  was  devoid  of  important  un 
dertakings  either,  inasmuch  as  the  Co-opolitan  Transconti 
nental  Railroad  was  conceived  and  planned  that  year.  It 
was  in  connection  with  this  enterprise  that  our  peril  was 
unwittingly  incurred.  The  large  accumulations  of  money 
which  our  Association  was  constantly  making  had  become 
known  to  the  world,  so  that  if  our  Legislative  Council  en 
tered  upon  the  consideration  of  any  great  proposition  the 
decision  was  looked  for  in  financial  circles,  both  in  Wall 
Street,  New  York,  and  Lombard  Street,  London,  as  being 
a  matter  of  prime  importance.  Co-opolis  was  now  a  formid 
able  opponent  and  rival  of  those  celebrated  centers  of  com 
petitive  iniquity.  Its  methods  were,  however,  the  exact 
opposite  of  those  of  Wall  Street  and  Lombard  Street. 

The  proposition  to  construct  a  transcontinental  railroad 
was  particularly  interesting.  It  was  the  plan  of  Mr.  Sea- 
bury,  chief  of  the  Transportation  department,  to  build  the 
road  in  question  from  Co-opolis  to  Chicago  by  what  he  de 
clared  to  be  the  only  route  which  extended  all  the  way 
through  a  productive  country.  This  route  was  to  parallel 
the  Union  Pacific  to  the  Great  Shoshone  Falls,  thence  to 
Idaho  Falls,  thence  veering  slightly  in  a  northerly  direc 
tion  to  pass  through  the  coal,  iron,  oil  and  cattle  fields  of 
Wyoming,  thence  entering  the  Black  Hills  region  near  the 
center,  to  proceed  across  the  limestone  foundation  of  that 


122  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

wonderful  country,  down  Rapid  Valley  to  Rapid  City, across 
the  divide  to  Box  Elder  Valley,  down  that  fertile  valley  to 
the  Cheyenne  River,  down  Bad  River  to  the  Missouri,  over 
the  Missouri,  and  thence  through  South  Dakota,  Southern 
Minnesota  and  Wisconsin  to  Chicago.  It  was  also  proposed 
that  this  road  should  be  extended  to  Seattle,  on  Puget 
Sound. 

The  plan  was  considered  sufficiently  practicable  to  war 
rant  the  Legislative  Council  to  instruct  the  Engineering 
department  to  run  preliminary  surveys  along  the  proposed 
route  as  far  as  the  Missouri  River.  This  order  was  given  in 
the  early  spring;  I  think  the  records  will  show  that  it  was 
about  April  10th.  A  month  later  there  appeared  at  the  Co- 
opolitan  Hotel  an  elderly  gentleman  who  registered  as  Les 
ter  Hickman,  London,  England.  Mr.  Hickman  appeared 
to  be  merely  an  English  tourist.  He  did  not,  at  first,  make 
special  efforts  to  get  acquainted,  but  neither  did  he  display 
any  aversion  to  talking  with  other  guests  or  citizens  who 
might  come  in  his  vicinity.  There  was  nothing  about  him 
to  particularly  attract  attention,  except  that  his  face  was 
very  pale,  his  hair  white,  and  his  eyes  were  very  gray. 
Perhaps  they  would  have  been  very  white,  too,  if  that  had 
been  possible  for  keen,  observing  eyes.  Mr.  Hickman's 
clothes  fitted  him  perfectly  and  his  style  of  dress  indicated 
the  neat  and  modest  gentleman.  He  looked  the  picture 
of  scholarly  innocence  and  spotless  purity.  In  passing 
through  the  hotel  I  had  noticed  him  several  times  during 
the  week,  and  I  had  seen  him  on  the  street  several  times, 
but  never  felt  any  special  curiosity  as  to  who  he  might  be. 
One  day  I  was  in  my  office  when  the  young  man  who  acted 
as  my  messenger  and  office  attendant  handed  me  a  card, 
upon^ which  was  the  name  Lester  Hickman.  The  attendant 
said  the  gentleman  was  in  the  anteroom  and  would  be  glad 
to  speak  with  me  if  I  was  at  leisure.  I  was  at  leisure  and 
told  him  to  show  the  gentleman  in. 

"Good  afternoon,  sir/'  said  the  old  gentleman  as  he  en 
tered  the  door,  smiling  and  bowing  good-naturedly. 

He  had  the  air  of  a  man  whose  business  could  not  be  very 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  123 

weighty,  but  whose  motives  were  invariably  humane.  He 
was  as  white  as  an  angel.  • 

"Good  afternoon,"  I  returned.  "Your  name,  I  see,  is 
Mr.  Lester  Hickman.  1  have  noticed  you  several  times 
about  the  city.  What  can  I  do  for  you? 

"Do  not  let  me  disturb  you,  sir."  Mr.  Hickman  looked 
as  if  he  could  become  my  most  intimate  friend  in  five  min 
utes,  as  he  smiled  patronizingly  and  held  his  hand  out 
toward  me  with  a  gesture  which  seemed  to  indicate  that  he 
was  a  great  man  at  leisure  and  that  I  was  a  great  man  whose 
time  might  be  occupied.  The  whole  manner  of  the  man 
flattered  me  and  I  felt  that  he  had  my  confidence  at  once. 
"I  only  called  for  information,"  continued  he,  "and  do 
not  wish  to  take  your  time,  which  I  know  is  valuable." 

"I  am  at  your  service,  Mr.  Hickman,"  said  I.  "Will  you 
be  seated?" 

Mr.  Hickman  sat  down.  Even  that  he  did  with  such 
graceful,  unassuming  dignity,  and  with  such  exalted  defer 
ence  to  me,  that  I  felt  flattered  again. 

"You  have  a  wonderful  city,  Mr.  Braden,"  he  ex 
claimed.  "Your  people  have  certainly  built  up  a  wonder 
ful  Commonwealth."  He  looked  at  me  as  he  said  this,  as 
if  he  attributed  the  wonders  he  had  seen  to  me. 

"Yes,"  I  replied,  "The  Co-opolitan  has  reason  to  be 
proud  of  his  city.  We  have  performed  what  has  never  be 
fore  been  achieved  in  nine  years." 

"Very  true!"  assented  my  visitor.  "But  you  should  have 
added,  Mr.  Braden,  that  no  people  ever  did  as  much  in  all 
time."  Here  he  smiled,  and  I*  had  an  undefmable  feeling 
that  he  rather  considered  it  would  not  have  been  done  by 
the  Co-opolitan  >  Association,  even,  if  I  had  not  been  a 
part  of  it.  I  found  myself  warming  toward  this  sprightly, 
perfectly  straight,  white  little  old  man  wonderfully.  He 
was  either  the  most  innocent,  interesting  and  lovable  or 
the  most  artful  and  cunning  of  men.  I  was  inclined  to 
think  the  former,  but  experience  had  taught  me  that  such 
men  would  bear  study. 

"I  am  anxious,  Mr.  Braden,"  said  Mr.  Hickman,  "to  in- 


124  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

vestigate  your  system  of  co-operation  with  a  view  to  estab 
lishing  a  similar  system  in  England.  Some  of  us  have  a 
plan  on  foot  to  aid  our  impoverished  and  idle  classes  to  gain 
a  foothold  on  earth  and  I  have  fyeen  sent  by  my  association 
to  study  Idaho.  It  occurred  to  me  that  you  could  aid  me 
in  obtaining  the  information  I  desire." 

I  certainly  could  not  refuse  so  innocent  a  request,  and  I 
and  my  people  always  hastened  to  extend  aid  to  such  an 
enterprise  as  he  described  whenever  it  was  proposed.  I 
assured  the  gentleman  that  I  would  place  my  department 
at  his  disposal  and  recommended  him  to  see  Mr.  Edmunds 
of  the  Educational  department.  The  latter  would  place 
our  historical  records  at  his  disposal  and  he  would  gain, 
from  that  source,  the  fullest  information. 

This  white  gentleman  remained  with  me  nearly  an  hour. 
A  more  entertaining  conversationalist  it  has  rarely  been 
my  fortune  to  meet.  He  had  traveled  extensively,  was  ac 
quainted  with  most  of  the  famous  men  of  England,  and  the 
moral  tone  of  his  conversation  was  the  highest  conceiv 
able. 

"There  is  only  one  thing  I  notice  about  your  system 
which  I  cannot  approve,"  said  he.  "Your  Association  has 
pursued  a  course  calculated  to  destroy  the  value  of  all  the 
public  bonds  in  Idaho  except  those  of  the  state.  There  are 
Boise  City  municipal  bonds,  for  instance,  which  have  no 
value  in  the  market  because  you  have  constructed  a  mag 
nificent  co-operative  city  outside  the  territory  affected  % 
them.  I  do  not  see  how  you  can  escape  the  charge  of  im 
morality  in  refusing  to  pay  them." 

These  remarks  were  made  by  the  white  saint  with  such 
apparent  sincerity  that  I  did  not  at  that  time  doubt  they 
sprang  from  an  honest  heart.  I  met  him  many  times  after 
and  he  never  referred  to  that  subject  again.  He  remained 
in  Co-opolis  three  months,  during  which  time  he  was  a 
constant  attendant  upon  church  and  I  observed  that  he  was 
often  to  be  seen  in  the  company  of  the  members  of  the  min 
istry.  Just  before  he  departed  he  called  upon  the  Legisla 
tive  Council,  then  in  session,  and  asked  to  make  a  statement 


THE   CO-OPOLITAN.  125 

to  that  body.  The  request  was  granted  and  he  spoke 
briefly.  He  said  he  understood  that  the  Legislative  Council 
was  considering  plans  for  the  construction  of  a  transconti 
nental  railroad,  that  he  understood  the  Association  was  not 
then  prepared  to  build  the  road,  but  would  be  obliged  to 
defer  the  completion  of  it  until  its  finances  permitted;  that 
he  was  acquainted  with  numerous  philanthropic  gentlemen 
in  England  who  were  much  interested  in  Co-opolitan  suc 
cess;  that  he  was  able  to  procure  from  these  gentlemen  a 
loan  of  one  million  pounds  sterling  for  the  Association,  at 
the  nominal  rate  of  three  per  cent  interest  per  annum,  the 
bonds  to  run  for  twenty  years;  that  he  would  use  his  best 
endeavors  to  accomplish  this  purpose,  providing  the  Asso 
ciation  would  agree  to  purchase  at  the  end  of  that  time  the 
outstanding  municipal  bonds  of  the  various  cities  for  fifty 
cents  on  the  dollar.  He  said  he  had  no  knowledge  as  to  who 
might  be  the  owners  of  such  bonds,  but  for  the  good  name 
of  the  Association  he  desired  to  urge  that  this  course  be 
pursued. 

The  Legislative  Council  paid  very  little  attention  to  this 
proposal,  at  that  time,  ascribing  it  to  the  gentleman's  ig 
norance  of  our  system. 

.Air.  Ilickman  had  not  been  gone  a  week  before  I  made  a 
discovery  which  startled  me.  I  found  that  a  petition  was 
being  circulated,  under  our  Association  law,  asking  the 
President  of  the  Association  to  submit  three  laws,  which 
were  attached  to  the  petition,  to  the  people,  to  be  voted 
upon  at  the  next  October  election.  What  appalled  me  most 
was  that  they  were  being  circulated  by  the  clergy,  who 
went  from  house  to  house  for  the  purpose. 

The  first  provided  that  the  Association  borrow  $5,000,- 
000.00  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a  transcontinental 
railroad  and  issue  bonds  on  such  road  bearing  three  per  cent 
interest  per  annum  and  running  for  twenty  years.  The 
second  recited  the  moral  obligation  of  the  Association  to 
assume  certain  municipal  bonds  which  had  become  value 
less  and  to  pay  for  the  same,  setting  forth  also  the  fact  that 
as  long  as  these  bonds  remained  unpaid  the  territory  for- 


126  THE   CO-OPOLITAN.     . 

merly  occupied  by  the  cities  of  Lewiston,  Boise,  Ketchem, 
Shoshone  and  several  others  would  be  valueless.  It  then 
provided  that  the  Association  pay  for  these  bonds  at  the 
rate  of  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar  in  five  years  from  the 
passage  of  the  law.  The  third  provided  that  all  industrial 
orders  be  retired  and  that  all  labor  be  paid  for  after  January 
1st,  1907,  by  labor  checks  which  would  be  non-transferable. 

While  these  three  laws  were  to  be  submitted  separately 
for  the  voters  to  pass  upon,  they  were  attached  to  one  peti 
tion.  The  law  permitted  this  action  at  that  time,  but  as 
soon  as  possible  after  this  abuse  was  discovered  the  Legisla 
tive  Council  corrected  the  plain  defect  so  thai  each  law 
must  be  supported  by  a  separate  petition  in  ojder  to  obtain 
a  reference  to  the  people,  and  the  correction  was  so  obvi 
ously  proper  that  it  has  ever  since  remained  the  law. 

I  made  no  doubt  when  I  saw  this  petition  that  the  white 
saint-like  personage,  Lester  Hickman,  was  an  agent  of  some 
English  syndicate,  and  that  this  whole  scheme  had  been  set 
on  foot  by  him  to  get  the  municipal  bonds  of  these  several 
cities  paid. 

Some  time  after  I  learned  that  I  was  correct  in  this  sur 
mise.  His  syndicate  had  procured  the  bonds  referred  to 
for  a  mere  nominal  sum,  and  hit  upon  the  plan  of  loaning 
the  Association  $5,000,000.00  and  getting  the  bonds  paid 
at  the  same  time.  As  for  the  proposed  loan,  it  would  have 
been  as  safe  as  the  bonds  of  the  nation,  and  the  entire 
financial  world  so  regarded  it.  Why  not?  The  Co-opolitan 
Association  was  absolutely  solvent  and  was  looked  upon  as 
enormously  rich. 

Ilicknian  was  a  shrewd  agent.  Tie  had  amassed  great 
wealth  for  himself,  and  was  as  artful  as  any  living  man  in 
inducing  men  to  part  with  the  fruits  of  their  industry  with 
out  receiving  due  compensation.  In  approaching  the  Co- 
opolitan  Association  he  donned  the  sheep's  clothing  of  an 
adviser  and  advocate  of  co-operation,  and  went  immedi 
ately  to  the  ministry  and  preached  morality.  With  them 
he  succeeded. 

Those  who  best  understood  the  theory  of  morals  and 


THE    CO-OPOI.ITAN.  127 

« 

could  preach  it  in  all  its  purity  were  least  able  to  discrim 
inate  between  the  spurious  and  the  real.  Hickman  be 
longed  to  a  class  of  artful  tempters  who  have  done  more  to 
enslave  mankind  and  degrade  morals  than  any  other.  Mem 
bers  of  this  class  go  forth  daily  from  our  great  cities  to 
lobby  in  legislative  bodies,  bribe  judges,  corrupt  city  coun 
cils  and  induce  the  representatives  of  the  people  to  give 
away  valuable  public  privileges  or  part  with  public  utilities. 

Jn  Co-opolis  Hickman  enlisted  the  clergy  by  making 
large  donations  to  the  churches,  talking  to  them  .about  a 
high  standard  of  morality  which  he  professed,  claiming  to 
be  entirely  disinterested  and  assuming  a  modest  and  retir 
ing  piety.  He  was  a  financial  Talleyrand. 

The  result  of  Hickman's  efforts  was  that  after  he  was 
gone,  and  almost  before  we  knew  what  was  going  on,  the 
petition  containing  thirty  thousand  names  of  members 
of  the  Association  was  sent  to  the  President.  This  was 
not  twenty  per  cent  of  the  population  of  the  state,  out  at 
that  time  all  Co-operators  were  not  members  of  the  Co- 
opolitan  Association.  There  were  several  distinct  associa 
tions,  embracing  in  their  membership  a  total  of  nearly 
forty  thousand.  There  were,  besides,  some  thirty  thousand 
who  were  not  members  of  any  association.  Three  years 
later  all  co-operative  associations  in  the  state  were  received 
into  the  Co-opolitan  Association,  and  the  individualists 
who  still  declined  to  become  identified  with  our  organiza 
tion  were  few.  But  at  the  time  the  petitions  in  question 
were  presented -the  thirty  thousand  names  affixed  to  them 
constituted  twenty  per  cent  of  the  total  vote  of  the  Co- 
opolitan  Association. 

Here  then  issue  was  joined.  However  impatient  our 
chief  officers  might  feel  with  the  Co-operators  who  had  im 
prudently  and  unwisely  raised  these  serious  questions,  or  at 
least  the  bond  and  credit  questions,  there  was  no  alternative 
and  the  duty  to  refer  them  to  the  popular  .vote  was  im 
perative.  Some  of  us  felt  that  it  was  a  great  misfortune, 
and  I  confess  that  I  trembled- for  the  result.  Let  me  say 
now,  as  a  candid  man,  that  I  have  never  been  very  sanguine 


128  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

of  the  success  of  any  issue  which  was  left  to  the  popular 
decision,,  except  on  the  one  occasion  when  I  felt  faith  in  the 
successful  establishment  of  the  co-operative  programme  in 
1902. 

My  faith  even  then  rested  upon  a  theory  that  the  masses 
will  sometimes  do  right  impulsively  and  err  when  they  stop 
to  deliberate.  As  a  candid  man,  I  am  also  bound  to  say  that 
experience  proves  my  suspicions  to  have  been  unfounded  in 
every  instance.  Our  referendum  law  was, ,  and  is,  in  one 
respect,  superior  to  that  of  Switzerland.  It  provided  then, 
as  now,  that  proposed  laws  should  be  published  for  a  period 
of  six  weeks  at  least,  but,  in  addition,  it  very  wisely  denied 
to  any  member  the  right  to  vote  unless  he  had  attended 
three  public  debates  in  which  the  law  to  be  voted  on  was 
discussed.  Our  method  then,  as  now,  was  to  appoint  cer 
tain  days  for  such  discussions,  and  we  selected  the  ablest 
disputants  on  both  sides  of  the  question  at  issue  to  fully 
present  the  arguments  on  their  respective  sides  in  joint  de 
bate.  In  this  manner  the  people  became  fully  informed. 
These  disputants  were  generally  recommended  then,  as 
now,  by  the  partisans  of  one  or  the  other  theory,  but  if  no 
recommendation  was  made  the  Association  appointed  an 
,able  and  learned  man  to  represent  the  defaulting  side. 

No  political  party  has  ever  existed  in  Idaho  since  1905. 
Men  have  combined  on  numerous  occasions  the  better  to 
support  their  convictions  with  regard  to  certain  proposed 
laws;  but  the  men  who  honestly  agreed  on  one  proposition 
were  just  as  likely  to  honestly  disagree  as'  to  the  next  ques 
tion.  So  that  each  organization  was  at  an  end  when  its 
mission  was  acomplished.  Moreover,  as  all  are  provided 
for,  there  is  no  occasion  to  form  parties  to  secure  political 
office. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  DEBATE  ON  THE  BOND  AND  CREDIT  LAWS-REV. 
CADMUS  M.  DESTY  AND  THE  MORAL  LAW. 

The  discussion  of  the  bond  and  credit  laws -referred  to 
the  people  to  be  voted  upon  at  the  Association  election  in 
October,  1907,  was  as  earnest,  interesting  and  thorough  as 
any  which  had  ever  occurred  in  Idaho.  The  advocates  of 
their  adoption  were  vigorous  and  persistent  and  regarded 
themselves  as  conscientious. 

They  were  not  honest,  however,  with  themselves.     They 

had  allowed  an  artful  and  unscrupulous  agent  of  the  com- 

'petitive  system  to  convince  them  that  a  moral  question  was 

involved  and  to  delude  them  into  believing  him  to  be  a 

great  and  good  man. 

Indeed,  Hickman  had  written  a  pamphlet  on  "Co-opera 
tion  and  Financial  Integrity,"  which  was  published  on  his 
return  to  Xow  York  City  from  Co-opolis,  and  a  large  num 
ber  of  these  had  been  sent  back  to  Co-opolis  and  distributed 
throughout  Idaho. 

It  was  an  able  presentation  of  the  view  he  desired  his 
.partisans  in  Idaho  to  urge.  It  was  not  his  view,  however, 
but  simply  the  plea  which  a  shrewd  lawyer  in  the  competi 
tive  world  might  make  for  a  guilty  criminal.  It  was  suffi 
ciently  effective  to  become  the  text-book  of  the  affirmative 
in  the  discussion,  and  they  lauded  Hickman  to  the  skies 
until  it  was  proven  that  he  had  for  years  been  the  trusted 
agent  of  the  celebrated  banking  house  of  Rothschild.  After 
that  the  bond  advocate  mentioned  Hickman  no  more. 

In  this  discussion  every  member  of  the  Legislative  Coun 
cil  of  the  Association  and  every  member  of  the  Great  Coun 
cil  were  enlisted  in  opposition  to  these  laws.  Ex-Governor, 
now  United  States  Senator,  Thompson  was  one  of  the  most 


130  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

active  of  the  negative  speakers.  On.  the  side  of  the  affirma- 
time  was  the  Reverend  Dr.  Cadmus  M.  Desty,  the  famous 
pulpit  orator,  a  most  conscientious  man  and  an  intelligent 
Co-operator.  He  had  become  convinced,  and  I  would  stake 
life  itself  that  he  was  perfectly  honest  in  the  matter,  that 
our  whole  system  must  fail  if  we  broke  what  he  conceived 
to  be  God's  law,  and  did  what  was  unjust  and  dishonest. 

The  whole  basis  of  his  contention  was  the  moral  law. 
He  was  an  emotional  speaker.  It  was  his  custom  to  support 
his  views  by  making  copious  quotations  from  the  bible  and, 
drawing  from  them  some  conclusions  which  were  satisfac 
tory  to  his  mind,  launch  into  an  exhortation  which  was  per 
fectly  irresistible  to  some  of  his  emotional  followers. 

In  those  days  our  discussions  were  not  conducted  as  they 
are  to-day.  Then  the  disputants  were  given  an  hour  or  an 
hour  and  a  half  each  to  present  his  side.  Our  system  of 
requiring  the  affirmative  to  state  an  argument  in  ten  min 
utes,  and  the  negative  to  reply  in  the  same  length  of  time, 
continuing  in  this  manner  for  several  hours  in  the  presence 
of  referees  who  permit  no  divergence  from  the  subject,  is 
calculated  to  exclude  oratory  and  passion,  and  raise  the  dis 
cussion  to  an  intellectual  plane.  But  the  system  was  not 
adopted  until  1912. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  the  oratorical  contests  of  the 
old  style  were  as  interesting  as  a  circus  or  gladiatorial  show, 
in  which  respect  they  were  superior  to  the  give-and-take 
method  of  to-day. 

The  greatest  of  all  the  debates  of  that  campaign  occurred 
between  Senator  Thompson  and  the  Reverend  Dr.  Desty 
during  September.  One  of  these  took  place  in  the  great  hall 
at  Co-opolis.  There  were  present  9,000  members  of  the 
Industrial  Army  and  one  thousand  pupils  from  the  schools. 
It  was  our  custom  to  have  the  Educational  department  send 
a  certain  number  of  its  wards  to  these  discussions,  in  order 
to  have  them  familiarized  with  Co-opolitan  methods.  These 
questions  were  always  discussed  fully  in  the  s^icols  as  well 
as  in  the  Industrial  Army. 

The  discussion  in  the  great  hall  was  ope  :'«     /  Dr.  Desty. 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  131 

He  insisted  that  the  bonds  of  Boise  City  should  be  paid,  that 
the  poor  people,  who  doubtless  held  them,  factory  operators 
in  the  unfortunate  competitive  cities,  perhaps,  had  pur 
chased  them  in  good  faith;  that  the  action  of  the  Co-opoli- 
tah  Association,  which  he  entirely  approved,  had  rendered 
these  bonds  valueless,  and  that  the  Association,  which  was 
founded  on  principles  of  justice,  equality  and  righteous 
ness,  should  not  withhold  from  these  poor  people  what  be 
longed  to  them. 

He  also  pointed  out  the  fact  that  as  long  as  the  bonds 
remained  outstanding  the  territory  affected  by.  them  would 
be  lost  to  the  Association.  Then  came  the  wonderful,  soul- 
stirring  oratory  of  the  man,  which  moved  his  hearers  to  the 
depths.  I  almost  felt,  as  I  listened  to  him  on  that  occasion, 
that  perhaps  he  was  right. 

When  he  finished  the  applause  from  all  parts  of  the 
hall  was  deafening.  I  believe  now  that  it  was  more  an 
acknowledgment  of  his  wonderful  oratory  than  because  he 
had  produced  a  conviction  of  the  correctness  of  his  views, 
but  I  was  distressed  by  different  thoughts  then. 

Senator  Thompson  followed  on  behalf  of  the  negative. 
The  Senator  was  at  that  time  in  the  very  prime  of  an  ex 
ceptionally  strong  and  vigorous  manhood.  He  had  occu 
pied  the  important  positions  of  President  of  the  Association 
and  Governor  of  the  state,  the  former  for  seven  years,  the 
latter  for  two.  His  reputation  was  world- wide,  not  as  an 
orator,  but  as  the  father  of  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth 
and  the  possessor  of  extraordinary  administrative  ability. 
He  had  not,  as  yet,  taken  his  oath  of  Senator  of  the  United 
States,  having  been  but  recently  elected,  and  was  hardly 
known  as  a  public  speaker  outside  of  the  state.  He  was  not 
an  emotional  orator. 

His  chief  characteristics  in  debate  were  his  ready  wit,  his 
complete  command  of  the  subject  under  discussion,  and  his 
logical  and  powerful  array  of  facts.  He  was  the  opposite 
of  the  Reverend  Dr.  Desty  in  nearly  every  respect.  That 
day  he  was  at  his  best.  As  he  came  forward  to  the  speakers' 
stand  he  was  received  with  terrific  applause.  This  was  al- 


132  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

ways  the  case,  however,  and  it  did  not  indicate  that  his  was 
the  most  popular  side. 

He  commenced  by  informing  the  audience  that  he  did 
not  desire  to  use  any  personal  influence  with  them  concern 
ing  the  exercise  of  their  suffrage.  Pie  wished  them  to  be 
guided  by  truth  and  wisdom  only.  If  the  people  of  Idaho 
were  not  sufficiently  intelligent  to  save  their  Co-operative 
Commonwealth  then  it  must  fall,  because  their  intelligence 
was  its  sole  foundation.  He  had  some  evidence  to  present 
for  their  consideration. 

Here  he  read  three  affidavits  from  England,  which  set 
forth  the  business,  character  and  history  of  one  Lester 
Hickman.  These  averred  that  gentleman  to  be  the  presi 
dent  of  the  American  and  English  Bond  and  Trust  Com 
pany,  limiteo1,  of  London,  and  that  his  company  was  the  pur 
chaser,  for  a  mere  nominal  sum,  of  the  municipal  bonds 
of  the  cities  of  Idaho.  They  further  averred  that  Hickman 
was  known  as  a  bitter  enemy  of  all  movements  for  the  bet 
tering  of  the  condition  of  the  people,  and  neither  more  nor 
less  than  a  keen  broker  and  speculator.  They  also  set  forth 
that  Hickman's  reputation  for  honesty  was  somewhat 
shady. 

After  reading  these  affidavits  Senator  Thompson  ex 
claimed: 

"This  is  the  prophet  of  financial  morality  whose  teach 
ings  are  invoked  for  your  instruction  by  my  good  and  sin 
cere  but  misguided  friend,  Dr.  Desty."  At  this  point  the 
applause  which  shook  the  house  and  was  again  and  again 
repeated  marked  the  turning  of  the  tide  of  public  senti 
ment  against  the  affirmative. 

"I  think  now,"  resumed  the  Senator,  after  quiet  was  re 
stored,  "that  the  bond  and  credit  laws  are  dead.  But  I 
would  not  have  you  decide  this  question  on  the  simple  fact 
that  the  man  who  instigated  them  is  a  selfish  hypocrite  and 
schemer.  I  want  you  to  understand  these  laws  thoroughly 
and  adopt  or  reject  them  on  their  merits.  If  they  are  good, 
it  matters  not  who  proposes  them.  Let  them  be  adopted. 


THE   CO-OPOLITAN.  133 

If  they  are  bad;  it  matters  not  what  demon  inspired  them, 
they  should  be  rejected. 

"These  laws  are  for  what  purpose?  To  introduce  among 
you  the  most  iniquitous  feature  of  the  competitive  system. 

"Once  allow  it  to  be  introduced,  whether  under  the  guise 
of  necessity  or  morality,  whether  by  Shylock  or  by  an  err 
ing  angel,  and  I  would  not  give  a  straw  for  your  entire 
system.  It  will  eat  its  way  into  the  very  heart  of  yo.ur  body 
politic  and  destroy  all  that  is  worth  having  about  it. 

"History  shows  to  my  mind  successive  systems  of  slavery, 
one  chasing  the  other  through  the  earth. 

"Bond  slavery  succeeded  chattel  slavery  and  has  nearly 
crushed  liberty  to  death  in  the  great  republic.  There  is 
not  the  slightest  reason  why  the  Co-opolitan  Association 
should  become  indebted  to  private  persons. 

"We  are  the  public,  the  law,  the  will  of  Idaho,  and  what 
we  desire  within  the  state  that  we  can  have.  If  we  wish  to 
build  a  railroad  beyond  the  state  we  ought  to  have  no  diffi 
culty  in  doing  that. 

"What  is  necessary  to  such  a  road?  First  you  must  have 
the  line  surveyed.  That  has  been  done.  Next  you  must 
have  the  right  of  way.  That  will  be  somewhat  expensive. 
But  if  the  right  of  way  costs  us  five  million  dollars  why 
should  we  borrow  it?  We  have  it  already.  Even  if  we  did 
not  have  it,  let  me  remind  you  that  from  1862  to  1892,  a 
period  of  thirty  years,  Idaho  produced  nearly  two  hundred 
million  dollars  of  gold  and  silver,  and  her  producing  popu 
lation  was  at  no  time  greater  than  thirty  thousand  persons. 
With  a  population  such  as  we  have  to-day  we  can  produce 
gold  enough,  if  gold  is  needed,  in  a  single  year,  to  build 
this  road. 

"Would  not  Idaho  be  demented  to  borrow  gold  from  a 
hypocritical  agent  of  Rothschild  when  we  can,  without  in 
curring  debt,  take  it  from  our  own  valleys,  creek  beds  and 
mountains?" 

The  Senator  treated  the  question  of  bond  issues  from 
every  point  of  view  conceivable,  with  a  power  of  descrip 
tion,  illustration  and  argument  that  not  only  held  his  audi- 


134  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

ence  spellbound,  but  fixed  its  logic  deep  in  the  minds  of  all 
who  heard  him.  Such  was  the  effect  of  the  affidavits  which 
he  read  upon  the  mind  of  his  reverend  opponent  that  the 
latter  declared  his  intention  never  again  to  enter  upon  the 
discussion  of  political  questions  or  questions  of  public 
finance.  Thenceforth  he  confined  himself  to  religion  and 
became  a  world-renowned  pulpit  orator. 

When  the  election  occurred  the  vote  was  overwhelming 
•against  all  these  laws,  the  last  going  down  largely  on  ac 
count  of  the  unpopularity  of  the  two  others  known  as  the 
land  and  credit  propositions.  Our  system  did  not  permit 
the  submission  of  a  rejected  law  for  at  least  five  years  after 
its  rejection.  The  proposition  to  abolish  the  labor  orders 
and  pay  all  labor  in  non-transferable  checks  was  a  really 
meritorious  one  and  ought  to  have  been  adopted. 

The  people,  however,  are  so  constituted  that  once  their 
suspicions  are  aroused  they  are  much  readier  to  say  no  than 
yes,  and  the  abolition  of  orders  as  a  medium  of  labor  ex 
change  had  to  wait  until  1912.  It  is  gratifying,  however,  to 
be  able  to  say  that  the  people  were  less  and  less  inclined  to 
demand  such  orders,  and  more  and  more  inclined  to  receive 
the  labor  checks. 

The  defeat  of  the  bond  and  credit  laws  had  the  effect  of 
placing  the  Co-opolitan  Association  and  the  co-operative 
system  on  an  enduring  basis.  The  entire  world  now  real 
ized  that  it  was  an  assured  and  successful  system  and  in 
every  state  in  the  Union  the  tendency  was  toward  the  en 
actment  of  laws  favorable  to  co-operative  action  on  the  part 
of  the  laborer.  Nearly  all  the  states,  seized  by  the  spirit  of 
the  hour,  began  to  discuss  the  propriety  of  calling  a  con 
stitutional  convention  and  reforming  their  systems  of  state 
government  upon  the  model  of  Idaho. 

The  features  of  our  state  constitution  most  favored  were 
its  provisions  embodying  the  initiative  and  referendum 
and  the  imperative  mandate,  which  I  have  already  de 
scribed. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

WHY  IDAHO  HAS  A  DUAL  GOVERNMENT— A   GLIMPSE  AT 
THE  LAW. 

The  second  Governor  of  Idaho  and  the  second  President 
of  the  Co-opolitan  Association,  succeeding  Senator  Thomp 
son  to  both  positions,  was  Hon.  Henry  B.  Henderson.  The 
political  machinery  of  the  state  was  in  the  control  of  the 
Association  and  our  policy  was  to  make  the  executive  offi 
cers  of  the  Association  the  executive  officers  of  the  state 
also.  Some  of  those  readers  who  live  beyond  the  bound 
aries  of  Idaho  into  whose  hands  this  history  may  come 
do  not 'comprehend  why  we  continued  to  run  two  organiza 
tions  in  the  name  of  the  people,  instead  of  one.  They  are, 
perhaps,  at  a  loss  to  understand  why  the  Co-opolitan  Asso 
ciation  did  not,  when  it  had  acquired  nearly  all  the  land  in 
Idaho  and  embraced  nearly  all  the  population  of  the  state, 
transfer  its  dominion  to  the  state  government  and  operate 
its  co-operative  system  as  a  state  institution.  The  reason 
is  simple  enough.  The  state  was  necessarily  limited  in  its 
powers  by  the  Federal  constitution.  There  were  several 
very  important  functions  which  were  by  that  instrument 
denied  to  state  governments,  but  not  to  private  corpora 
tions,  and  we  desired  to  exercise  them. 

I  have  already  adverted  to  the  fact  that  the  Federal  con 
stitution  prohibits  the  state  from  issuing  "bills  of  credit." 
This  does  not  prevent  corporations,  associations  or  private 
persons  from  doing  so.  When  we  dealt  with  the  commer 
cial  world  "bills  of  credit"  were  often  necessary.  More 
over,  our  industrial  orders  might  be  construed  to  be  bills  of 
credit  and  this  plan  of  labor  exchange  was,  in  reality,  one 
of  the  most  important  features  of  our  co-operative  system. 
If  the  state  had  inaugurated  such  a  plan  the  Federal  pro 
hibition  would  have  crushed  it  at  once. 


136  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

Still  another  important  power  would  have  been  lost  had 
the  state  government  owned  and  operated  our  system.  We 
could  not  have  extended  our  business  into  any  other  state 
in  the  Union.  It  was  our  purpose  to  build  railroads.  Most 
of  the  states  permitted  a  corporation  organized  in  another 
state  for  that  purpose  to  build  railroads  within  their  limits 
and  take  land  for  their  right  of  way  by  right  of  eminent  do 
main.  No  state  had  a  law  upon  its  statute  books  which 
gave  similar  powers  to  another  state.  It  had  never  been 
contemplated  that  a  state  would  do  business  or  own  rail 
roads  within  its  own  limits,  much  less  within  the  limits  of 
another  state. 

The  Co-opolitan  Association  was  organized  under  the 
laws  of  Idaho.  There  the  Association  did  not  so  much  con 
form  to  the  laws  as  the  laws  conformed  to  the  needs  of  the 
Association.  This  dual  system  proved  to  be  extremely  use 
ful.  We  made  the  state  perform  police  duties  for  us  and 
regulate  the  relation  of  our  members  to  one  another.  AVc 
had  a  system  of  courts  regulated  by  state  law,  but  these  had 
little  to  do.  In  1910  we  repealed  the  laws  giving  remedies 
for  the  collection  of  any  debt  or  the  enforcement  of  any 
contract  entered  into  after  January  1st,  1911,  except 
against  the  Co-opolitan  Association.  We  had  a  criminal 
code  and  punished  crimes,  but  the  people  were  all  provided 
for  and  educated,  so  that  three  great  causes  of  crime — pov 
erty,  excessive  wealth  and  ignorance — being  minimized, 
the  criminal  courts  had  little  to  do.  That  other  cause  of 
crimes — drunkenness — is  uncommon.  All  alcoholic  or  in 
toxicating  drinks  were  not  only  sold  by  the  Association,  but 
were  of  the  purest  quality.  It  was  and  is  a  crime  to  import 
any  liquors  into  the  state  for  sale,  but  the  Association  is  its 
own  manufacturer. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  STATE  GOVERNMENT— ITS  INSANE,  WEAK-MINDED 
BLIND,  SICK,  AGED  AND  INFIRM— THE  INDUSTRIAL 
ARMY— ITS  ORGANIZATION  AND  PRODUCTIVE  POWER. 

All  the  labor  of  the  state  of  Idaho  was,  as  early  as  1910, 
performed  exclusively  by  the  Industrial  Army  of  the  Co- 
opolitan  Association.  We  had  intended  at  the  outset  of 
our  career  to  transfer  all  our  property  to  the  state  govern 
ment  when  it  should  come  under  our  control,  but  for  the 
reasons  already  mentioned  that  plan  was  abandoned.  Even 
as  late  as  the  year  following  the  adoption  of  our  Co-opera 
tive  institution  we  expected  to  pursue  that  course.  But  as 
soon  as  we  began  the  actual  work  of  legislation  we  discov 
ered  that  the  better  and  simpler  method,  and  one  which 
rendered  it  easier  to  avoid  conflict  with  the  Federal  con 
stitution,  was  to  keep  the  state  government  within  very 
narrow  limits.  As  a  result  the  state  government  delegated 
all  its  important  functions  which  could  be  delegated  to  the 
Co-opolitan  Association.  Its  Great  Council  still  continued 
to  exercise  its  legislative  and  judicial  functions  and  the 
executive  still  continued  to  act  as  the  chief  police  and  mili 
tary  officer.  But  the  state  government  was  hardly  more 
than  a  bridge  connecting  the  Co-operative  state  with  the 
Federal  Constitution.  The  latter  could  not  recognize  the 
former,  but  the  state  government  could,  and  did.  The 
state  complied  with  the  constitution  of  the  country  as  a 
political  organism.  The  Co-opolitan  Association,  as  the 
industrial,  financial,  social  and  commercial  organism,  did 
as  it  pleased.  Notwithstanding  all  this,  the  Co-operative 
state,  the  state  of  Idaho  and  the  Co-opolitan  Association 
were  one  and  the  same,  and  the  last-mentioned,  embracing 
all  the  people  of  the  state  and  its  membership,  was  the  liv 
ing  and  controlling  power  in  and  behind  the  whole. 


138  THE   CO-OPOLITAN. 

We  had  expected  that  the  state  of  Idaho  would  have  an 
Industrial  Army  of  its  own.  Experience,  however,  con 
vinced  us  that  it  would  be  far  better  to  do  all  its  work 
through  the  Association.  Insane,  weak-minded,  blind, 
sick,  aged  and  infirm  persons  who  were  members  of  the 
Association  were  cared  for  by  the  Association,  so  that  the 
state  had  no  duty  to  perform  toward  them.  The  children 
of  our  members  inherited  membership,  losing  it  only  by  vio 
lating  its  laws  in  some  few  particulars,  so  that  insane,  weak- 
minded,  sick  or  infirm  children  of  members  were  all  cared 
for.  To  care  for  persons  who  might  be  afflicted,  however, 
and  were  not  members  of  the  Association  was  the  state's 
concern.  To  punish  criminals  was  its  duty.  The  Great 
Council  contracted  with  the  Co-opolitan  Association  to  care 
for  its  afflicted  and  its  criminals,  and  the  sole  consideration 
-which  it  charged  for  this  burden  was  that  it  have  the  ben 
efit  of  the  labor  of  the  able-bodied  among  them. 

We  soon  found  that  the  criminals  whom  the  state  con 
signed  to  our  care,  when  given  a  fair  opportunity,  were 
most  of  them  able  and  willing  to  work.  This  was  all  the 
more  apparent  when  we  offered  a  reward,  consisting  of 
wages  equal  to  a  Co-opolitan's  dividend,  for  meritorious 
conduct.  We  rarely  ever  permitted  a  convict  to  become  a 
member  of  our  Industrial  Army,  however  meritorious  his 
work,  but  we  did  not  oblige  him  to  quit  our  service  on  the 
penitential  farm  or  in  the  penitential  factories  when  his 
term  of  service  expired.  Yet  we  did  admit  Barnstead,  who 
invented  a  flying  machine;  Applegate,  the  inventor  of  the 
electric  plough;  Turner,  that  poet  who  sang  with  wonder 
ful  power  the  songs  of  Remorse,  Injustice  and  Sorrow,  and 
some  thirty  others.  The  state  criminal  is  now  almost  a 
thing  of  the  past,  yet  fifteen  years  ago  our  penitential  farms 
and  factories  were  important  concerns.  But  we  made  them 
pay.  They  produced  not  only  enough  wealth  to  support 
themselves  substantially,  but  enough  to  support  the  state 
insane,  weak-minded,  sick,  aged  and  infirm,  whose  several 
asylums  adjoined  the  farms. 

Our  Industrial   Army  in    that  year — 1910 — contained 


THE   CO-OPOLITAN.  130 

twenty-four  departments,  in  which  1,025,525  persons  were 
at  that  time  enlisted.  Of  these  four  hundred  and  sixty- 
two  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  were  women. 
It  was  a  magnificent  body  of  well-trained,  intelligent,  ear 
liest,  industrious  and  faithful  men  and  women.  The  chief 
of  this  body  was  the  President  of  the  Association.  Its 
movements  were  directed  by  the  Legislative  Council.  Its 
general  laws  were  enacted  by  that  body,  but  each  depart 
ment  and  subdivision  had  regulations  of  its  own  which  did 
not  conflict  with  those  provided  by  the  Legislative  Council. 
There*  were  then  twenty-five  general  departments,  as  fol 
lows: 

1st.  Department  of  Agriculture.  All  occupations  requir 
ing  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  except  such  as  were  within 
the  Nursery  and  Fruit  department,  were  within  its  prov 
ince. 

2nd.  The  Live  Stock  department  had  charge  of  all  cat 
tle,  horses,  sheep,  hogs  and  other  animals,  as  well  as  birds. 

.3rd.  The  Xursery  and  Fruit  department  had  charge  of 
all  orchards,  vines  and  plants  bearing  fruit  and  all  horticul 
tural  plants  and  flowers. 

4 tli.  The  Irrigation  department  had  charge  of  all  waters 
and  the  distribution  of  the  same. 

5th.  The  Commerce  department  had  charge  of  all  de 
partment  stores  and  was  charged,  as  now,  with  supptying 
the  needs  of  the  people. 

Oth.  The  Manufacturing  department  had  charge  of  all 
factories  and  all  manufactures. 

7th.  The  Transportation  department  had  charge  of  all 
highway^,  methods  of  transportation,  vehicles  and  the  oper 
ation  of  the  same. 

•Stli.  The  Messenger  and  Publishing  department  had 
i-harge  of  the  means  and  instrumentalities  of  communica 
tion  and  publication,  including  telegraphs,  telephones,  sig 
nals,  newspapers  and  magazines. 

(Jth.  The  Educational  department  had  charge  of  the  edu 
cation  of  the  young. 


140  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

10th.  The  Department  of  Public  Amusements  had 
charge  of  the  entertainment  of  the  people. 

llth.  The  Department  of  Health  had  charge  of  the  pub 
lic  health,  the  care,  treatment  and  cure  of  the  sick  and  the 
burial  of  the  dead.  Also  all  hospitals,  sanitariums,,  mineral 
springs,  medicines,  drugs  and  medical  practice. 

12th.  The  Legal  department  had  charge  of  the  legal 
business  of  the  Association.  This  department  employed 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  persons  in  1910. 

13th.  The  Timber  and  Forestry  department  had  charge 
of  the  timber  and  saw  mills  of  the  Association.  It  was  also 
charged  with  the  preservation  of  the  forest. 

14th.  The  Labor  department  had  charge  of  the  un 
classified  labor  of  the  Association.  From  the  Educational 
department  all  students  passed  into  this  department,  where 
they  were  generally  required  to  serve  three  years.  All  per 
sons  enlisting  who  did  not  possess  a  trade  or  evince  some 
special  ^aptitude  were  also  generally  assigned  to  this  depart 
ment.  Advancement  to  other  departments,  or  the  official 
positions  in  this  one,  were  the  rewards  of  merit.  This  de 
partment  was  also  required  to  find  constant  employment  for 
its  forces  or  to  report  forthwith  to  the  Legislative  Council 
its  failure  to  do  so.  In  the  latter  case  the  Legislative  Coun 
cil  would  cause  new  enterprises  to  be  undertaken. 

15th.  The  Department  of  Public  Improvements  was 
charged  with  the  investigation  of  all  plans  for  new  roads, 
parks,  waterways  and  the  improvements  of  the  methods, 
conveniences  and 'comforts  of  the  people.  Plans  or  ideas 
were  received  by  this  department  from  any  person  and 
whenever  a  plan  or  idea  was  accepted,  provided  it  was  new, 
original  and  meritorious,  a  reward  in  the  form  of  a  vacation 
was  given  the  originator. 

16th.  The  Department  of  Invention  was  charged  with 
the  duty  of  searching  out,  investigating,  testing  and  intro 
ducing  all  labor-saving  inventions  to  the  Association. 
This  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  useful  departments. 
Manufacturers  are  not  usually  able  to  find  time  to  experi 
ment  and  are  generally  averse  to  introducing  new  ma- 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  ]41 

chinery  or  methods.  This  department  did  all  the  work  of 
experimenting  and  reported  results. 

17th.  The  Department  of  Art  had  charge  of  all  decora 
ting,  painting,  drawing,  sculpture,  architecture,  designing, 
etc. 

18th.  The  luigineering  department  had  charge  of  all 
engineering  work. 

19th.  The  Department  of  Building  not  only  had  charge 
of  all  buildings  and  was  responsible  for  their  healthfulness 
and  security,  but  was  the  manufacturer  of  all  building  ma 
terial,  except  lumber,  and  quarried  all  stone  employed  by 
it  or  shipped  to  another  state.  The  granite,  white  calico 
and  lilac  mottled  marble,  the  gypsum,  sandstone  and  other 
building  stone,  as  well  as  ornamental  onyx  stone,  produced 
by  our  quarries,  were,  and  still  are,  handled  by  this  de 
partment. 

20th.  The  Department  of  Mining  had  charge  of  all  the 
mining  except  coal. 

21st.  The  Land  department  had  charge  of  all  the  unused 
lands  of  the  Association. 

22d.  The  Food  department  had  charge  of  the  prepara 
tion  and  distribution  of  all  foods  at"  public  or  private  tables, 
the  killing,  dressing  and  packing  or  canning  of  meats,  and 
the  preparation,  preserving  or  canning  of  fruits,  vegetables 
and  other  edibles. 

23d.  The  Department  of  Fuel,  Heat  and  Light  had 
charge  of  all  heating  and  lighting  plants  and  all  sources  of 
fuel,  such  as  coal  mines,  gas  wells  and  oil  wells. 

24th.  The  Department  of  Science  had  charge  of  the 
scientific  investigation,  of  the  geology,  mineralogy  and 
natural  resources  of  the  state  and  their  chemical  analysis. 

25th.  The  Department  of  Accounts  and  Statistics  was 
then,  as  now.  the  Auditory  department.  In  addition  to 
this  it  received  and  transmitted  all  orders  between  the  de 
partments.  For  instance,  if  the  flour  section  of  the  depart 
ment  store  desired  flour  the  Commerce  department  must 
send  its  orders  to  the  Department  of  Accounts  and  Statis 
tics.  Here  the  order  is  recorded  and  immediately  trans- 


142  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

mitted  to  the  Manufacturing  department.  If  the  Manufac 
turing  department  has  no  flour  it  transmits  an  order  to  this 
department  for  wheat,  which  is  recorded  and  transmitted 
to  the  Agricultural  department.  When  the  order  for  wheat 
is  rilled  this  department  is  notified  by  the  department  fill 
ing  and  that  receiving,  and  so  with  the  flour  when  delivered. 
This  department  also  keeps  a  full  record  of  all  the  property 
and  products  of  the  Association. 

These  several  departments  were  again  subdivided  by  the 
Legislative  Council  into  divisions  and  sections. 

Our  method  of  co-operation,  through  the  instrumentality 
of  the  Industrial  Army,  resulted  in  our  being  able  to  pro 
duce  more  than  three  times  as  much  wealth  each  year  as  an 
equal  population  usually  did  in  the  competitive  system. 

The  population  of  the  state  at  that  time,  including  men, 
women  and  children,  was  3,160,000.  Such  a  population  in 
a  competitive  state  will  contain  about  five  thousand  law 
yers. 

We  had  one  hundred  and  fifty  lawyers  and  four  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  fifty  strong  men  in  our  producing  ranks. 
The  wives  of  these  men  were  also  in  our  Industrial  Army. 

Such  a  population  in  competition  usually  supports  six- 
thousand  saloon  men  and  bartenders.  Liquors  were  sold  in 
the  various  department  stores  of  the  Association  at  that 
time  and  in  the  restaurants  and  hotels,  but  there  were  no 
bars  and  no  saloons.  They  were  handled  incidentally  with 
drugs,  medicines  or  foods.  In  the  competitive  system  the 
liquor  dealers  and  bartenders  form  a  special  force.  The 
liquors  in  Idaho  were  dispensed  by  the  clerks  and  waiters 
who  handled  other  goods.  We  could  safely  count  six  thou 
sand  workers  in  our  Industrial  Army  aiding  in  the  produc 
tion  of  wealth  instead  of  six  thousand  saloon  men  and  bar 
tenders. 

Instead  of  eight  thousand  claim,  commission,  real  estate 
and  insurance  agents  and  collectors  we  had  an  equal  num 
ber  of  men  at  work  in  our  factories,  on  our  farms,  or  in  the 
distributing  departments. 

The  restaurant  and  hotel  keepers,  brokers,  commercial 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  143 

travelers,  hucksters  and  peddlers  and  merchants  in  such  a 
population  in  a  competitive  state  would  number  sixty  thou 
sand.  All  these,  instead  of  preying  upon  us  and  consum 
ing  the  fruits  of  our  labor  without  giving  any  return  for  it, 
were  now  at  work  with  us. 

Body  and  personal  servants  who  wait  upon  the  rich  in  a 
state  of  three  million  inhabitants  will  number  in  the  neigh 
borhood  of  ninety  thousand,  and  all  these  were  in  our  In 
dustrial  Army  helping  to  increase  the  annual  wealth  of  the 
state. 

We  had  no  gamblers,  professional  capitalists,  speculators 
or  leisure  classes  in  19iO,  but  we  had  an  equal  number  of 
honest  workers. 

We  were  not  compelled  to  waste  time  in  searching  for  em 
ployment,  hunting  for  customers  or  waiting  for  trade. 

We  were  not  distressed  by  the  pressure  of  a  few  over 
burdened  and  a  large  number  who  could  get  neither  the 
burden  nor  the  reward  for  carrying  it. 

There  were  no  overdone  trades  and  no  overstocked  mar 
kets. 

Wherever  we  found  power,  whether  human,  natural  or 
mechanical,  we  sought  to  employ  it. 

Two  incentives  were  furnished  by  the  Association  to  hon 
est  and  diligent  effort  on  the  part  of  the  worker.  The  first 
was  promotion  to  a  higher  grade.  The  second  was  a  reward 
in  the  nature  of  a  leave  of  absence.  These  incentives  were 
powerful,  especially  as  Idaho,  being  one  of  the  most  beauti 
ful  and  picturesque  states  in  the  Union  and  abounding  in 
game,  offered  an  inviting  field  for  recreation.  But  another 
force  was  also  at  work  among  the  men  and  women  of  the 
Army.  Each  felt  that  he  was  a  partner  in  this  great  enter 
prise.  Each  regarded  the  idler  who  "stole  time"  as  his  foe. 
Each  was  determined  that  the  other  should  do  his  duty,  and 
the  laggard  and  loafer  was  regarded  with  such  contempt 
by  his  associates  that  no  one  cared  to  incur  the  odium  of 
that  reputation.  This  had  a  very  pronounced  effect  both  as 
to  the  quality  and  quantity  of  the  work  done. 

At  and  before  that  time  I  had  noticed  that  a  large  num- 


144  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

ber  of  those  who  entered  the  Army  from  other  state?  were 
actuated  by  a  desire  to  earn  the  large  dividends  paid  to 
members  for  several  years,  cash  their  cheeks  or  orders  and 
withdraw.  In  a  few  instances  only  have  I  noticed  that 
these  intentions  were  carried  out. 

Such  persons  found  that  in  our  system  they  were  able  to 
obtain  all  the  best  fruits  of  competition  without  the  worry, 
distress  and  mockery  of  that  system.  Their  labor  was  bet 
ter  rewarded,,  their  hours  of  toil  were  shorter,  they  were 
never  confronted  by  want,  they  were  called  upon  to  divide 
with  neither  poverty  nor  distress;  they  were  equal  to  the 
best  as  far  as  material  things  were  concerned  and  they  were 
not  superior  to  any  one  in  those  respects.  I  remember  that 
a  few  were,  or  affected  to  be,  distressed  because  they  could 
not  own  any  real  estate.  But  in  a  few  months  they  realized 
that  they  would  never  be  disturbed  in  the  possession  of  the 
house  they  occupied  as  long  as  it  satisfied  them,  and  that, 
should  sickness  or  death  come,  their  families  were  safe. 

When  a  workman  was  injured  or  fell  sick  his  dividend 
was  paid  as  fully  as  if  he  were  at  work.  If  injured  by  acci 
dent  or  negligence  he  had  no  remedy,  although  the  person 
responsible  for  his  injury  might  suffer  punishment.  His 
assurance  of  receiving  his  membership  dividends  was  suffi 
cient  comfort. 

If  the  worker  urged  that  he  should  have  a  vested  right  in 
the  Association  property,  above  the  share  of  its  annual  earn 
ings,  it  was  only  necessary  to  remind  him  that  in  the  com 
petitive  system  he  would  never  think  of  demanding  of  his 
employer  a  similar  share,  and  was  generally  compelled  to  be 
satisfied  with  a  pittance  for  wages.  In  the  co-operative 
system  he  received  his  dividend,  which  represented,  in 
1910,  twelve  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  purchased  every 
thing  he  needed  cheaper  than  competition  ever  made  it  for 
him, was  insured  against  accident  or  sickness,had  his  family 
protected  against  his  death,  was  furnished  educational  facil 
ities  and  positions  for  his  children,  and  was  more  certainly 
a  part  of  the  governing  power  than  he  could  be  under  any 
constitution,  Instead  of  being  the  hunted  victim  of  a  him- 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  145 

dred  ingenious  robbers  who  flattered  him  with  the  promise 
that  he  would  strengthen  his  individuality  by  permitting 
them  to  chase  and  gtarve  him  and  his  family,  he  discovered 
that  his  individuality  improved  with  prosperity  and  his 
confidence  and  courage  rose  in  an  equal  and  healthy  con 
test. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  TRANSCONTINENTAL  RAILROAD. 

The  Oo-opolitan  Transcontinental  Railroad  was  com 
pleted  in  1910  to  Chicago.  Two  years  before  that  the  last 
spike  had  been  driven  at  Seattle,  on  Puget  Sound,  and 
trains  had  since  been  running  regularly  on  that  portion  of 
the  road.  The  construction  of  the  road  through  Washing 
ton,  Wyoming  and  South  Dakota  was  not  interrupted  by 
any 'obstacles  or  opposition.  Indeed,  the  people  of  those 
states  offered  every  inducement  for  us  to  pass  through  their 
country. 

When  we  reached  the  Black  Hills  in  South  Dakota  we 
found  the  route  from  Silver  City  to  Rapid  City  down  the 
narrow  valley  of  Rapid  Creek  occupied  by  a  partially  com 
pleted  railroad  which  the  projector  had  been  compelled  to 
abandon  for  lack  of  funds.  Tliis  we  purchased  for  a  small 
sum.  With  that  exception  the  right  of  way  through  Wash 
ington,  Wyoming  and  South  Dakota  cost  us  practically 
nothing.  Moreover,  the  farmers  in  Eastern  South  Dakota 
aided  us  with  their  labor,  accepting  the  produce  and  mer 
chandise  which  we  brought  with  us  from  Idaho  for  pay. 
The  labor  orders,  also,  were  in  demand  along  that  part  of 
our  road,  and  we  established  the  department  stores  in  the 
states  where  these  orders  were  soon  received  back  for  wares. 

The  state  of  Washington  was  at  the  time  our  road  reached 
Seattle  largely  under  the  control  of  the  Washington  Co 
operative  Association,  and  that  Association,  being  like  the 
Co-opolitan,  a  creature  of  the  National  Brotherhood  of  the 
Co-operative  Commonwealth,  deemed  its  interests  identical 
with  ours  and  aided  us  materially  in  pushing  our  enterprise 
in  that  direction. 

In  Minnesota,  Wisconsin  and  Illinois  the  several  legisla- 


THE   CO-OPOLITAN.  147 

tures  had  denied  to  all,  except  domestic  corporations,  the 
right  to  exercise  the  power  of  eminent  domain.  This  law 
had  been  passed  at  recent  sessions  of  their  legislatures  at 
the  instance  of  certain  railroad  companies  to  exclude  our 
line.  The  people  of  these  several  states  had  been  much 
incensed  when  the  laws  mentioned  were  enacted.  Had  the 
initiative  and  referendum  been  in  force  there  as  in  Idaho 
this  would  not  have  been  a  serious  impediment.  We  could 
then  have  gone  among  the  indignant  citizens  and  procured 
a  petition  signed  by  twenty  per  cent  of  the  voters  of  the 
state  asking  that  the  obnoxious  laws-  be  submitted  to  the 
popular  vote. 

Such  was  the  feeling  against  the  corrupt  corporations  at 
the  time  that  people  would  have  hastened  to  sign  such  a 
petition.  But  they  had  no  initiative  and  referendum  law, 
and  so  were  at  the  mercy  of  the  corruptionists. 

The  plain  reason  why  the  competing  railroads  desired  to 
exclude  our  line,  and  why  the  farmers  desired  to  have  it 
enter  these  states,  was  the  understanding  that  we  would 
reduce  all  rates,  both  passenger  and  freight,  to  the  great 
advantage  of  the  farmers. 

In  fact,  we  designed  to  make  a  reduction  in  these  respects 
which  would  mean  ruin  for  all  competing  lines. 

We  were  able  to  do  this. 

In  the  first  place  the  road  had  cost  us  nothing  but  labor, 
except  what  we  paid  in  cash  to  purchase  the  Kapid  Valley 
Road  and  the  right  of  way  over  the  lands  of  certain  hostile 
fanners.  Even  this  cash  represented  our  labor  and  was 
valuable  only  as  it  would  purchase  other  labor  or  its 
products. 

Then  the  competitive  roads  had  been  enormously  ex 
pensive  to  build.  The  projectors  were  compelled,  when 
they  proposed  their  enterprises,  to  bribe  a  large  number  of 
so-called  capitalists  to  advance  money  which  had  doubtless 
been  intrusted  to  them  by  laborers  for  investment.  Such 
.capitalists,  having  little  they  could  call  their  own,  must 
needs  obtain  it. 

So  these  railroad  builders  and  their  financiers  placed 


148  THE   CO-OPOLITAN. 

side  by  side  with  the  genuine  million  won  from  labor  a 
false  and  pretended  million  which  had  its  inception  in  and 
owed  its  existence  to  fraud.  Then  the  true  and  false  were 
made  to  pass  together,  with  extended  hands  demanding  of 
the  toiler  a  portion  of  his  product  as  their  lawful  dues. 
The  one  was  just,  the  other  a  fiction  and  a  sham. 

False  stock,  which  never  had  any  basis  in  labor;  false 
bonds,  which  had  no  mission  except  to  defraud  labor  of  its 
product;  false  pretenses,  which  made  it  possible  for  knaves 
to  live  by  their  wits,  were  the  excuses  which  capitalists  put 
forth  for  those  extortionate  rates  by  which  the  people  were 
impoverished. 

Our  railroad  represented  no  such  presumptuous  and  das 
tardly  pretensions.  We  came  as  labor  should  come  to  labor, 
asking  no  more  and  no  less  than  labor's  honest  dues. 

No  stock,  no  bonds,  no  fraudulent  construction  com 
panies  came  with  us.  We  did  not  deal  in  dollars  nor  peddle 
securities. 

We  had  naught  but  labor  to  expend,  and  pretended  noth 
ing  more.  But  we  had  all  that  labor  makes  and  thousands 
of  willing  hands. 

When  we  built  our  road  we  offered  it  for  use  as  the 
creature  of  labor  and  not  the  creature  of  capital. 

To  build  it  and  equip  it  we  began  at  the  very  foundation. 
The  ore  we  mined,  and  smelted  it  in  our  own  furnaces.  We 
fashioned  our  own  plough  and  with  it  turned  the  furrow. 
We  made  the  harrow  and  followed  it  afield.  We  planted 
the  grain  and  when  it  ripened  in  the  golden  sun  we  har 
vested  it  with  blades  our  own  hands  wrought.  We  delved 
again,  and  from  the  mines  we  brought  the  ore,  and  in  the 
blazing  furnaces  we  moulded  the  steel  automata  which,  at. 
our  bidding,  amid  the  Shoshone's  roar,  reduced  our  wheat 
to  flour,  or  wove  the  wool  of  our  own  flocks  to  cloth. 

Then  we  made  rails  of  steel,  and  of  the  pulp  of  straw 
made  paper  ties,  and  threw  up  grades,  or  hewed  our  way 
through  rock-ribbed  hills.  And  so  our  road  was  built  *to 
Minnesota's  line  and  we  proposed  to  build  it  through  that 
state  and  onward  to  Chicago. 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  149 

It  can  be  seen  that- our  own  road  could,  when  completed, 
be  operated  far  cheaper  than  any  of  the  competitive  class. 
We  had  our  coal  in  Idaho  at  first  cost;  our  iron  at  first  cost; 
our  steel  rails,  ties  and  all  necessary  equipments  ftt  first 
cost.  No  brokers  or  speculators  intervened. 

Our  railroad  force  wore  clothing  which  we  made,  and  no 
retailer  exacted  from  our  employe  a  profit.  We  fed  him 
with  our  own  home-grown  .and  home-made  flour,  sugar, 
beef  and  supplies.  How  could  the  competitors  compete 
with  that? 

We  did  not  delay  fong  at  Minnesota's  boundary.  The 
Brotherhood  in  that  state  soon  organized  a  company  under 
the  laws  of  the  state  and  its  stock  was  nearly  all  conveyed 
to  our  Association,  except  just  enough  to  enable  us  to  have 
nominal  officers  in  the  state  as  the  law  required.  The  same 
course  was  pursued  in  Wisconsin  and  Illinois  and  our  road 
was  completed  in  due  time. 

Similar  consequences  followed  the  completion  of  this 
road  that  followed  the  establishment  of  our  department 
store  and  hotel  at  Boise  City. 

The  business  of  nearly  all  the  roads  to  the  coast  came  to 
the  Co-opolitan.  The  other  roads  could  not  compete 
with  us. 

We  reduced  our  rates  to  one  cent  a  mile.  The  other  roads 
followed  suit,  supposing  it  possible  for  them  to  force  us  to 
terms. 

The  Legislative  Council  thereupon  placed  the  fare  at  one 
dollar  for  the  through  trip  from  any  point  along  the  line  to 
Seattle  and  one  cent  per  mile  for  any  distance  less  than  one 
hundred  miles.  This  was  continued  for  two  years  without 
any  change  and  the  travel  on  the  road  was  enormous  and 
profitable  at  that  price. 

Freight  rates  wrere  also  reduced.  The  result  of  this  road 
as  to  the  manufactures  of  Idaho  was  to  give  them  a  "boom'." 

Our  woolen  goods  were  especially  salable.  We  had  over 
four  million  sheep  in  Idaho  and  our  woolen  mills  were  con 
suming  all  the  wool  yield  and  that  of  Washington,  Oregon 
and  Montana,  These  goods  were  of  superior  quality  and 


150  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

we  were  able  to  sell  them  cheaper  than  English  manufac 
turers  could  without  a  tariff. 

Two  years  before  our  road  was  completed  to  Chicago, 
after  the  last  spike  was  driven  at  Seattle,  we  began  the  con 
struction  in  that  city  of  three  large  buildings  costing  one 
million  dollars  each. 

These  were  of  the  most  magnificent  character  and  were 
equal  to  anything  which  in  the  competitive  system  would 
have  compelled  us  to  spend  four  or  five  million  each.  The 
reason  was  that  we  furnished  the  stone,  slate,  marble,  lime 
and  all  building  material  from  Idaho  and  performed  all  the 
work  with  our  own  Co-opolitan  labor.  We  also  transported 
men  and  material  on  our  railroad. 

One  of  these  buildings  was  a  co-operative  store,  another 
a  co-operative  hotel  and  a  third  a  Palace  of  Amusements. 
This  supplied  Seattle  with  all  needed  in  the  way  of  cloth 
ing,  food,  hotel  entertainment  or  accommodation  and 
amusement  or  recreation,  and  constituted  that 'Combination 
by  which  we  had  successfully  defeated  all  industrial  or 
competitive 'opposition  in  Idaho. 

The  Washington  Co-operative  Association  had  arranged 
with  us  that  we  should  be  allowed  Seattle  as  our  seaport 
town,  and  we  proceeded  to  establish  a  steamship  line  with 
China  and  Japan  and  arranged  for  other  lines  to  countries 
bordering  on  the  Pacific  Ocean.  This  we  had  no  difficulty 
in  doing,  as  we  had  gold  and  silver  in  large  quantities,  taken 
from  our  mines  or  won  from  competitors,  with  which  to 
deal  with  the  barbarous  people  who  use  them. 

As  for  Seattle,  it  had  long  been  inclined  to  co-operation. 
Its  business  men  and  citizens  had  been  for  years  struggling 
against  every  conceivable  disadvantage  and  were  com 
pletely  at  the  mercy  of  trusts  and  combinations  of  the  most 
unconscionable  character.  They  had  been  approaching 
closer  and  closer  to  bankruptcy  day  by  day  until  our  "Three 
Brothers,"  as  they  called  the'  hotel,  department  store  and 
amusement  hall,  received  them  into  their  fraternal  arms. 

Since  Seattle  became  a  co-operative  city  it  has  grown  to 
be  the  great  Pacific  seaport  of  the  co-operative  world.  Its 


THE   CO-OPOLITAN.  151 

widened  avenues,  its 'magnificent  parks,  its  comfortable  cot 
tages,  its  great  wharves  and  piers,  its  forest  of  masts,  its 
magnificent  Industrial  Army,  its  schools  and  institutions 
of  learning  all  bespeak  a  prosperity  which  is  the  pride  of 
her  citizens.  And  this  pride  is  all  the  more  excusable  be 
cause  the  Seattle  of  to-day  is  the  property  of  all  her  citizens 
and  not  the  property  of  a  few. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

CHARLIE  WOODBERRY  ASKS  QUESTIONS. 

We  were  seated  on  the  veranda  of  my  house  on  Salem 
Avenue.  It  was  a  summer  evening  after  tea  in  1912.  My 
wife  sat  by  my  side  and  her  brother,  Charlie  Woodberry,  a 
young  man  about  twenty-two,  sat  with  us.  My  little  daugh 
ter  and  a  number  of  children  about  her  own  age  played 
upon  the  lawn  in  front  of  the  house. 

The  day  had  been  an  exceedingly  hot  one — such  a  day  as 
the  farmers  say  is  excellent  for  corn — but  the  evening  was 
cool  and  delightful,  as  all  the  evenings  are  in  Idaho. 

We  were  engaged  in  watching  the  children  as  they  played 
and  listening  to  their  merry  laughter.  As  the  evening  wore 
on  and  the  dusk  deepened  into  darkness,  when  the  little 
girl,  tired  of  play,  came  and  sat  in  her  little  chair  on  the 
veranda,  our  conversation  took  a  more  serious  turn. 

Charlie  was  a  visitor  from  Fall  River,  Massachusetts,  and 
in  that  city  was  employed  in  the  office  of  a  large  factory  in 
the  capacity  of  bookkeeper.  I  think  his  salary  was  at  that 
time  about  eighty  dollars  per  month.  He  was  spending  his 
three  weeks'  vacation  with  us. 

"Mr.  Braden,"  said  he,  "I  learned  to-day  that  your  book 
'Co-operative  Economy'  is  probably  responsible  for  your 
being  Governor  of  Idaho  and  President  of  the  Association. 
I  have  never  read  it,  but  my  two  days'  visit  in  Co-opolis 
makes  me  anxious  to  read  it." 

"Yes,"  I  replied.  "Probably  the  book  did  have  more  to 
do  with  my  selection  than  anything  else.  J  certainly  hope 
you  will  read  it,  because  I  have  endeavored  in  that  book  to 
explain  the  whole  co-operative  system  as  industrially  ap 
plied  in  this  state,  and,  while  you  will  hardly  read  it  for 
pleasure,  you  will  understand  our  system  better  if  you 
study  it." 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  153 

The  term  of  President  Henderson  of  Co-opolis  had  ex 
pired  the  year  before  and  I  had  been  selected  to  succeed 
him  both  as  President  of  the  Association  and  Governor  of 
Idaho,  I  had  also  completed  the  latter  part  of  1910  my 
work  referred  to  by  Charlie  Woodberry.  Whatever  may  be 
said  of  the  book,  it  was  a  success  from  the  outset. 

It  was  adopted  as  a  text-book  in  all  the  co-operative 
schools  in  Idaho,  Washington,  Oregon,  Utah,  California, 
Colorado,  Nebraska  and  the  two  Dakotas,  and  in  many 
other  states  and  territories,  and  was  read  extensively  by  the 
more  intelligent  of  the  general  public.  Most  economic 
works  were,  up  to  the  time  "Co-operative  Economy"  made 
its  appearance,  devoted  to  analysis  and  explanation  of  the 
competitive  system.  My  work  discussed  Co-operation  as  it 
was  and  as  it  ought  to  be.  In  our  schools  such  a  work  was 
needed,  as  co-operation  was  the  chief  study  pursued  in  con 
junction  with  all  useful  branches.  I  suppose  it  must  be 
admitted  that  this  work  gives  me  more  satisfaction  at  this 
time  than  anything  I  have  ever  done,  because,  although  the 
Publishing  department  was  successful  under  my  adminis 
tration,  it  was  not  due  to  my  sole  efforts.  "Co-operative 
Economy"  was  my  own  thought  and  was  produced  outside 
of  the  work  which  the  Association  assigned  me. 

"Mr.  Braden,"  said  Charlie,  "I  would  be  glad  to  ask  you 
a  few  questions  about  co-operation  and  the  Co-opolitan 
Association  if  you  would  kindly  answer  them.  I  have  a 
general  idea  of  the  system,  but  its  features  are  not  clear  to 
my  mind.  If  I  could  get  in  a  nutshell  a  few  truths — or 
what  you  claim  to  be  truths — I  believe  I  could  read  your 
books  with  much  more  interest." 

"Ask  me  any  question  you  please,  Charlie.  If  I  cannot 
answer  them  your  sister  there  will,"  I  replied. 

"Charlie  and  I  have  already  had  some  correspondence 
and  talks  on  the  subject,"  said  Caroline.  "He  does  not 
think  the  system  attractive." 

"I  will  not  say  it  is  not  attractive,"  returned  Charlie, 
shaking  his  head.  "I  simply  say  it  is  not  attractive  as  I 
understand  it.  Now,  take,  for  instance,  the  feature  which 


154  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

makes  the  Association  own  everything.     That  is  very  dis 
tasteful  to  me.    Nobody  can  ever  own  his  own  home,  even." 

"Well,  Charlie,"  said  I,  "that  is  the  way  you  have  been 
educated.  If  you  had  been  taught  to  believe  that  personal 
ownership  of  property  was  a  burden,  and  had  a  tendency  to 
diminish  your  personal  security,  you  would  view  the  case 
in  a  different  light.  Think  a  minute.  Take  a  Mongolian 
when  an  infant,  transfer  him  to  London,  rear  him  as  a 
Christian  and  an  Englishman  and  he  will  despise  the 
system  and  religion  of  China.  But  take  an  English  baby 
and  let  him  be  reared  in  Pekin  as  a  Chinaman  and  he  will 
doubtless  hold  London  and  Christianity  in  abhorrence. 
•  "We  talk  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  Chinese  mind,  and 
doubtless  there  are  many  which  have  been  formed  by  the 
education  and  environments  of  centuries  or  time;  but 
the  Chinese  education  is  more  responsible  for  the  Chinese 
mind  than  nature  is. 

"You  have  been  taught  that  it  is  desirable  to  have  prop 
erty  stand  in  your  name.  In  the  competitive  system  to 
own  property  makes  you  the  object  of  attack.  It  is  dan 
gerous.  You  are  alwa}rs  fearful  that  somebody  will  rob 
you.  If  yon  own  none,  in  the  competitive  system,  you  are 
despised,  no  matter  what  your  personal  merits  may  be. 

"Yet  you  can  only  use  what  you  own  and  you  can  do  no 
more  with  what  you  borrow. 

"Why  should  you  wish  to  own  it,  then,  if  you  only  get 
the  use"  of  it  in  any  event?  In  the  co-operative  system  it 
has  been  found  convenient  to  have  individuals  own  certain 
things.  They  own  their  own  furniture,  their  clothes, 
wall  pictures  and  small  ornaments.  In  short,  they  own 
whatever  in  the  house  is  severable  from  it,  including  tools 
which  they  employ  for  private  use  and  what  they  can 
lightly  carry  about  their  person. 

"They  do  not  own  house  or  grounds.  They  simply  have 
the  use  of  them.  But  they  are  entitled  to  the  use  of  house, 
grounds  and  all  the  conveniences  connected  with  them  as 
long  as  they  wish.  Their  children  after  them  are  entitled  to 
that  use.  In  the  competitive  system  you  cannot  get  more. 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  155 

Co-operation  also  assumes  the  cares  of  the  Co-operators  as 
far  as  material  things  are  concerned.  You  do  not  have  to 
worry  about  the  ownership  of  that  which  has  no  other  than 
use  value.  In  competition  you  have  to  own  your  property, 
care  for  it  personally,  protect  it  and  pay  taxes.  This  diverts 
your  mind  from  thought  and  fills  it  with  worry,  and  in  addi 
tion  to  that  people  overlook  your  merit  and  inquire,  not 
what  you  are,  hut  what  you  have,  arid  woe  betide  you,  what 
ever  your  merit,  if  you  have  nothing." 

"But  does  not  common  ownership  and  the  inability  of 
the  occupant  to  own  his  home  render  him  careless  and 
wasteful?  Does  he  take  such  an  interest  in  his  home  as 
he  would  if  he  could  call  it  his?" 

"The  ownership  of  the  home  in  the  competitive  system 
does  not  make  the  owner  so  careful  to  avoid  waste  as  our 
system  makes  the  tenant.  As  I  have  said,  the  occupant,  be 
he  owner  or  tenant,  can*  enjoy  only  the  use  of  his  house 
during  his  life. 

"In  the  competitive  system  how  many  owners  waste  their 
houses?  Some  are  drunkards  and  mortgage  them  and  waste 
their  value  in  drink.  Some  are  gamblers,  and  lose  the  value 
at  the  gaming  table.  Some  insure  them  and  burn  them  to 
get  the  insurance  money.  Some  go  into  business,  mort 
gage  the  home  for  money  or  credit,  fail  and  lose  the  prop 
erty.  Thousands  of  houses  st§nd  idle  and  go  to  waste  in 
every  competitive  state,  while  thousands  of  homeless  people 
walk  the  streets  in  every  large  city  or  tramp  the  country 
roads.  In  our  system  the  state  cares  for  every  home  and 
make  a  home  for  every  man.  The  man  knows  his  home 
is  permanent.  It  cannot  be  taken  from  him  without  his 
consent." 

"But  he  cannot  convey  it  to  his  children,"  said  Charlie. 

"Xo.  He  cannot  compel  his  children  to  take  it  whether 
they  will  or  not.  But  if  the  children  desire  it,  when  the 
occupant  dies  or  departs,  they  may  have  it  on  the  same 
terms  if  they  are  members  of  the  Industrial  Army  that  their 
parents  did.  Let  me  say,  however,  that  when  the  children 
marry  they  generally  present  a  design  of  a  house  which  suits 


156  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

them  better  than  the  old  homestead  and  the  Association 
builds  them  a  house  to  suit  them.    Is  not  that  better?" 

"So  much  for  the  home/'  remarked  Charlie.  "I  am  al 
most  satisfied  with  your  explanation.  It  at  least  gives  me 
the  cue  so  that  I  can  study  the  subject  fully.  Now,  I  have 
long  felt  that  you  were  asking" a  man  to  be  a  slave  and  give 
up  His  personal  liberty  by  entering  the  Industrial  Army. 
Why  is  not  that  true?" 

"Charlie,  are  you  a  slave  to-day?"  I  asked. 

"No,  indeed!"  exclaimed  Charlie,  almost  indignant. 

"Is  a  government  official  a  slave?" 

"Of  course  not." 

"How  about  a  soldier  in  the  regular  army?" 

"Why,  he  is  certainly  not  a  slave." 

"How  about  a  clerk  in  the  postoffice  department,  for  in 
stance?  Is  he  not  in  the  same  position  as  a  member  of  the 
Industrial  Army?"  .  • 

"No.  It  is  a  similar  service,  but  he  serves  his  government 
and  country." 

"What  is  your  business,  Charlie?" 

"Accountant  for  the  Waumkeag  Cotton  Manufacturing 
Company." 

"What  are  your  wages?" 

"Eighty  dollars  per  month." 

"How  many  hours  a  day  do  YOU  work?" 

"Ten  hours." 

"Is  it  slavery  to  work  ten  hours  a  day  for  a  private  corpo 
ration,  for  eighty  dollars  per  month,  and  not  own  any  inter 
est  in  the  corporation?  Remember  that  the  Co-opolitan 
Association  pays  one  hundred  dollars  per  month  and  re 
quires  only  seven  hours'  work  per  day  at  the  most.  Then 
every  minute's  work  in  the  competitive  system  is  for  private 
persons,  while  in  the  co-operative  system  it  is  for  the  public 
good." 

"Well.  But  suppose  I  should  want  to  leave  the  service  of 
the  Association  after  I  had  worked  for  it  ten  years  or  less. 
Could  I  withdraw  my  part  of  the  accumulated  wealth  and 
take  it  away  ?" 


THE   CO-OPOLITAN.  157* 

"You  could  withdraw  your  wages  and  no  more.  You 
could  go  where  you  please  with  the  wages." 

"But  the  accumulated  capital.  Would  it  not  be  unjust 
not  to  let  me  have  my  part  of  that?" 

"Charlie!  I  forgive  you,  of  course,  but  you  are  brilliantly 
stupid.  How  long  have  you  been  at  work  for  the  corpora 
tion  which  now  employs  you?" 

"Three  years." 

"If  you  should  work  for  that  corporation  fifty  years 
would  you  get  any  more  than  your  wages  if  vou  should 
withdraw?" 

"No." 

"Who  would  get  the  benefit  of  your  work?" 

"Why,  the  stockholders." 

"Yes,  or  perhaps  the  bondholders!  You  could  invest 
your  wages  in  stock  in  that  corporation  if  you  chose.  You 
cannot  invest  them  in  the  Association.  But  after  investing 
in  the  cotton  company  you  are  liable  to  be  frozen  out  by  the 
big  holders.  Now,  frankly,  do  you  not  see  that  you  may 
work  forty  years  for  your  company  and  then  in  old  age 
have  not  enough  to  sustain  life  from  day  to  day?  This 
could  not  occur  in  our  system.  We  ex#ct  now  twenty-five 
years'  work  of  each  member  and  then  he  is  free.  After  he 
has  given  us  twenty-five  years'  work  he  becomes  entitled  to 
his  dividend  for  the  rest  of  his  life  just  the  same  as  if  he 
worked." 

"That  sounds  well,  Mr.  Braden.  But  have  you  any  such 
retired  members  yet?" 

"You  must  not  call  them  retired  members.  We  believe 
that  those  who  earn  freedom  by  twenty-five  years'  work  will 
be  among  our  most  useful  members.  They  will  still  be  in 
terested  in  our  work.  They  will  still  participate  in  our  elec 
tions.  They  will  take  a  personal  interest  in  maintaining 
and  guarding  the  Association  whence  they  draw  their 
income.  Our  Association  is  now  only  fifteen  years  old.  In 
ten  years  more  three  hundred  of  us  will  be  entitled  to  re 
lease  from  systematic  labor.  It  is  possible  that  the  Associa 
tion  will  give  us  earlier  release,  as  our  co-operative  wealth 


]58  THE   CO-OPOLITAN. 

is  so  great  at  present,  and  is  increasing  so  rapidly,  that  we 
are  considering  the  propriety  of  diminishing  the  number 
of  hours  of  labor  per  day  to  six  and  the  number  of  years  to 
twenty.  We  have  many  persons  who  have  earned  long  fur 
loughs.  In  every  such  instance  the  member  during  his  or 
her  furlough  is  a  useful  member.  If  he  travels  he  brings 
home  to  us  the  best  of  information.  If  he  seeks  pleasure 
he  studies  that  very  important  pursuit  and  we  learn  from 
him  how  to  make  life  enjoyable." 

"You  certainly  are  able  to  make  pertinent  and  seemingly 
complete  answers,  Mr.  Braden.  I  shall  ask  my  questions 
now,  not  to  puzzle  but  to  elicit  information.  Suppose  a 
member  becomes  sick.  Does  that  stop  his  income  or 
dividend?" 

"If  a  member  becomes  sick  he  is  turned  over  to  the 
Health  department.  As  long  as  he  is  in  the  charge  of  the 
Health  department  his  income  continues." 

"Who  pays  for  his  treatment  by  physicians?" 

"He  pays  for  it  himself  out  of  his  income  from  the 
Association." 

"Suppose  he  should  wish  to  change  his  climate  in  order 
to  recover?  How  shall  he  make  a  change?" 

"If  the  Health  'department  reports  such  a  remedy  for  any 
sick  member  of  the  Industrial  ^Vrmy  leave  of  absence  is 
granted  and  he  is  permitted  to  go  to  such  climate  as  is 
recommended." 

"Suppose  a  man  dies  leaving  a  wife  and  family  after  five 
years'  employment.  What  does  the  Association  do  for  the 
family?"' 

"The  funeral  expenses  are  paid  and  the  family  receives 
the  deceased  member's  income  until  the  youngest  child 
becomes  of  age,  provided  the  child  remains  in  the  Educa 
tional  department.  If  the  widow  is  healthy  and  able  to 
work  she  is  received  into  the  Industrial  Army." 

"When  a  man  enters  the  Army  does  he  become  entitled 
to  the  full  income  of  a  member  in  good  standing  at  once?" 

"He  does  not.  The  first  year  he  or  she  receives  only 
one-third  of  the  income  of  a  member.  The  second  year  and 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  159 

all  years  after  he  receives  as  much  as  anyone.  Members 
are  on  probation  the  first  year.  The  three  years  members 
are  entitled  to  promotion  to  higher  grades  and  the  members 
during  the  first  three  years  are  required  to  do  the  drudgery 
of  the  Association.  We  have  made  exceptions  to  this  rule 
when  we  have  offered  inducements  to  skilled  laborers,  but 
otherwise  all  who  enlist,  especially  from  the  Department 
of  Education,  must  pass  through  the  three  years  course." 

"One  more  question.,  Mr.  Braden,  and  I  will  ask  no  more 
until  I  have  read  some  chapters  of  'Co-operative  Econ 
omy.'  Do  not  your  members  regard  a  new  volunteer  as  an 
intruder?  Do  they  not  consider  that  he  is  suddenly  ad 
mitted  to  share  what  they  have  produced  without  making 
an  equal  contribution?  You  have, say, three  million  dollars' 
worth  of  wealth  in  Idaho.  Why  should  one  who  never  as 
sisted  in  producing  it  be  admitted  to  participate  in  its  bene 
fits  without  paying  a  large  membership  fee?" 

"He  does  pay  a  fee  of  one  hundred  dollars  and  he  gives 
the  first  year's  labor  for  one-third  the  income  of  one  mem 
ber  for  that  time.  If  he  has  not  one  hundred  dollars  we  do 
not  always  exclude  him.  We  simply  take  it  out  of  his  in 
come.  But  you  must  remember  that  the  Association  is  a 
great  corporation,  in  which  the  shares  are  not  transferable 
and  one  member  can  only  own  one  share.  The  Association 
keeps  all  the  machinery  and  sources  of  production  in  its 
exclusive  control.  Every  person  who  enters  to-day  agrees 
to  furnish  twenty-five  years'  labor.  ~No  person  can  receive 
the  benefit  of  such  a  membership  unless  he  so  agrees.  The 
Association,  therefore,  has  as  many  twenty-five-year  con 
tracts  as  there  are  members  of  the  Industrial  Army.  Let 
us  suppose  that  one  member  'has  worked  for  twenty-four 
years  when  a  new  member  is  admitted.  The  latter  is  now 
to  work  twenty-five  years  and  the  former  one.  The  latter 
is  to  give  twenty-five  years'  work  to  the  former,  who  one 
year  later  must  depend  upon  the  labor  of  the  latter  to  sup 
port  him.  Tell  me  which  of  these  men  is  getting  the  ad 
vantage,  the  man  whose  twenty-five  years  of  labor  in  the 
past  has  provided  the  machinery  and  improved  the  source 


160  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

of  production  or  the  man  whose  twenty-five  years  of  the 
future  will  operate  the  machine  and  render  the  source  of 
production  fruitful.  Is  it  not  a  fair  bargain  after  all?  If 
a  man  forty-six  retires  from  labor  and  a  man  twenty-one 
takes  his  place  and  supports  him  will  the  former  object?" 

This  closed  the  economic  discussion.  My  wife  did  not 
take  part  except  as  a  listener,  bu^she  was  deeply  interested. 
Our  little  girl  had  fallen  asleep  in  her  arms  and  she  now 
softly  arose  and  carried  her  into  the  sleeping  apartment. 
Charlie  and  I  still  continued  on  the  veranda  a  little  longer 
enjoying  the  pure  and  cool  atmosphere,  and  pursued  our 
conversation  on  lighter  subjects. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE  TERM  OF  SERVICE-THE  SURVIVORS  OF  TWENTY 
YEARS— SPREAD  OF  CO-OPERATION—SECRET  OF  CO- 
OPOLITAN  SUCCESS— 19L7. 

An  important  question  came  up  before  the  Legislative 
Council  at  one  of  its  meetings  in  May,  1916.  It  was  as  to 
whether  the  term  of  service  in  the  Industrial  Army  should 
be  reduced  from  twenty-five  to  twenty  years. 

After  full  discussion  it  was  decided  to  refer  the  matter  to 
popular  vote  at  the  referendum  election  of  October  follow 
ing.  It  was  accordingly  referred,  but  not  in  the  form  in 
which  it  was  at  first  considered. 

The  question  submitted  was:  "Whether  the  term  of 
service  in  the  Industrial  Army  shall  be  reduced  to  twenty 
years  to  all  members  in  the  Grade  of  Honor  at  the  expira-" 
tion  of  that  time."  All  persons  who  had  performed  their 
duties  faithfully  and  whom  their  companies^  by  a  majority 
vote,  recommended  to  advancement  to  the  Grade  of  Honor 
were,  after  serving  fifteen  years,  so  advanced. 

This  had  the  effect  of  rendering  our  workers  more  dili 
gent,  and  it  was  believed  by  the  members  of  the  Legislative 
Council  that  if  men  could  shorten  their  term  of  service  five 
years  by  industry  and  faithfulness  it  would  increase  the 
efficiency  of  the  Industrial  Army.  The  people  of  Idaho 
thought  so,  too,  and  after  a  most  thorough  discussion,  in 
which  it  was  made  apparent  that  the  Association  could  well 
afford  to  shorten  the  term,  the  election  of  October  resulted 
in  a  practically  unanimous  decision  in  favor  of  twenty 
'  years. 

The  20th  of  May,  1917,  completed  the  service  of  thirty- 
six  members.  Twenty  years  before  our  little  company  of 
fifty,  under  the  leadership  of  John  Thompson,  had  entered 


162  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

Deer  Valley  and  established  our  camp  on  the  present  site  of 
Co-opolis.  Since  then  fourteen  of  that  company  had 
passed  to  "that  country  from  whose  bourne  no  traveler  re 
turns."  The  thirty-six  who  remained  were  nearly  all  of 
them  high  in  the  councils  of  the  Association  and  some  had 
achieved  reputations  which  extended  beyond  the  limits  of 
Idaho. 

We  who  composed  that  little  company  were,  on  this 
twentieth  anniversary,  released  from  the  burdens  and  duties 
attaching  to  the  Co-opolitan  system,  and  thenceforward 
were  entitled  to  come  and  go  at  will.  Wheresoever  we 
chose  a  habitation  in  the  state  the  Association  undertook 
to  provide  us  with  suitable  houses,  and,  our  income  continu 
ing  as  large  as  if  we  were  still  employed,  we  were  expected 
to,  and  could,  pay  the  rental  of  the  house  and  our  living  and 
.other  expenses  without  stint. 

One  dollar  of  credit,  as  represented  by  the  labor-credit 
check,  was  neither  depreciable  nor  appreciable  by  the  act 
of  interested  or  disinterested  persons.  Abundance  or  scar 
city  of  any  product,  as  measured  by  the  demand  for  it,  was 
'the  deternfining  factor  of  price.  Our  credit  dollar  was  in 
vested  with  large  purchasing  power  because  co-operation 
produced  abundance  and  guaranteed  to  each  of  us  a  quan 
tity  of  any  needed  article,  and  a  quality  of  comfort,  pleasure, 
convenience  or  accommodation  equal  to  the  fair  exchange 
value  of  labor. 

The  thirty-six  whose  service  ceased  on  this  anniversary 
were  men  who  were  devoted  to  the  principle  of  co-operation 
and  ready  to  make  any  sacrifice  to  the  success  of  the  Co- 
opolitan  Association.  Most  of  them  had  lived  compara 
tively  frugal  lives.  For  fifteen  years  the  income  which  they 
had  derived  from  their  service  had  been  twelve  hundred 
dollars  per  annum  at  least.  This  was  allowed  them  on  the 
books  of  the  Association  and  the  labor-credit  checks  were 
delivered  to  them  each  month,  as  to  all  workers.  If  they 
failed  to  exhaust  their  month's  credit  during  the  month 
the  surplus  remained  with  the  Association. 

We  have  no  banks.  We  have  no  money  and  no  depart- 


THE    CO-OPOL4TAN.  163 

merit  which  makes  a  business  of  handling  money.  We 
have  no  occasion  to  deposit  or  store  labor-credit  checks. 

No  man  has  any  claim  with  us  upon  anything  but  the 
fruits  of  labor.  These  we  hold  until  he  calls  for  them,  and 
we  pay  him  no  interest  for  their  use.  In  fact,  we  have  no 
use  for  what  he  leaves  with  the  Association.  We  prefer  to 
have  him  take  it  and  consume  it  himself.  The  Association, 
for  instance,  has  a  menagerie  and  circus  which  it  sends  from 
city  to  city.  We  see  no  reason  why  a  man  who  desires  to  see 
such  an  exhibition  should  refrain  from  doing  so  from  mo 
tives  of  frugality.  The  Association  prefers  that  the  admis 
sion  fee  be  taken  out  of  every  labor-credit  check.  Of  course 
this  does  not  usually  happen,  because  the  members  do  not 
always  desire  to  witness  such  an  exhibition  when  it  appears. 

If  a  man  is  frugal  and  spends  but  little  of  his  monthly 
credit  he  does  not  lose  it  during  his  life.  It  is  a  matter  of 
prudence  to  save  something,  so  that  he  may  use  it  if  he  goes 
abroad,  and  the  Association  holds  itself  ready  to  furnish 
him  the  money  of  any  nation  if  he  makes  the  proper  appli 
cation  for  it. 

But  if  a  man  dies  his  unexhausted  credit  is  canceled. 
He  cannot  will  it  to  his  wife  or  children.  The  wife  is 
given  a  place  in  the  Industrial  Army  and  his  years  of  serv 
ice  are  accredited  to  her;  so  that  if  he  has  served  ten  years 
up  to  the  time  of  his  death  only  fifteen  more  are  required  of 
her,  or  ten  years  if  he  or  she  should  be  a  member  of  the 
Grade  of  Honor. 

As  for  children,  if  they  are  members  of  the  Educational 
department  and  are  left  orphans  they  are  allowed  the  fath 
er's  portion  until  they  arrive  at  age,  when  they  enter  the 
Industrial  Army.  These  provisions  are  necessary  to  co 
operative  success.  To  permit  a  man  to  leave  his  accumula 
tions  to  his  son  or  daughter  takes  from  them  the  incentive 
to  .labor.  They  cease  to  be  useful  or  acquire  a  superiority 
which  nature  did  not  give  them. 

We  insist  that  all  should  be  equal  in  the  start,  and  that 
they  have  no  advantages  which  they  cannot  create  for 
themselves. 


164  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

The  competitor  claims  that  this  removes  the  incentive  for 
action.  This  is  not  true.  It  removes  one  incentive  out  of 
many,  and  the  worst  and  most  injurious  one. 

It  is  an  incentive  which  makes  robbers,  thieves,  murder 
ers  and  tyrants  and  produces  a  host  of  evils. 

The  competitor  says  it  is  unjust  because  it  takes  from 
wife  and  child  their  support.  It  does  not.  We  give  the 
wife  a  chance  to  be  useful  and  an  income  for  her  use  equal 
to  the  income  of  any. 

We  give  the  child  his  education  and  an  opportunity 
equal  to  the  best  when  he  becomes  a  man.  WTe  insure  these 
things,  and  the  husband  and  father  is  relieved  from  all 
worry  on  their  account  while  he  lives.  Is  not  this  worth 
many  times  the  riches  of  the  competitor  which  are  so  ready 
to  vanish  and  leave  wife  and  child  in  the  ranks  of  abject 
and  despised  poverty. 

The  twentieth  year  of  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth  is 
indeed  a  proud  one.  The  great  state  which  we  occupy  is 
entirely  under  the  control  of  the  Co-opolitan  Association. 
It  contains  four  million  people  and  two  and  a  half  million 
active  members  of  the  Industrial  Army.  Its  inhabitants 
are  all  in  cities,  but  no  city  is  greater  than  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  persons,  except  Idafro  Falls  and  Shoshone, 
where  the  great  water  power,  generating  electricity,  gives 
exceptional  advantages  for  manufactures.  Idaho  Falls  con 
tains  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  inhabitants  and 
Shoshone  two  hundred  and  twenty-one  thousand.  In  Sho 
shone  are  the  great  flouring  and  woolen  mills,  but  nearly 
every  needful  and  useful  article  is  also  produced  through 
the  medium  of  its  marvelous  electric  power.  Idaho  Falls 
is  more  famous  for  its  cotton  mills,  and  other  cities  are 
numerous  which  are  devoted  to  manufactures  of  various 
kinds.  The  city  of  Rokybar  is  the  Pittsburg  of  Idaho  and 
the  Association  steel  works  at  that  city  are  the  largest  in 
the  world. 

Laselle  is  the  producer  of  beet  sugar,  and  all  the  sugar 
used  by  our  department  stores  in  Idaho  is  supplied  from 
our  factories  there.  There  is  little  necessity  for  the  im- 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  105 

portation  of  anything  into  this  state,  so  varied  and  abun 
dant  are  its  resources  and  productions. 

These  cities  of  Idaho  are  all  laid  out  and  conducted  on 
the  plan  of  Co-opolis.  Each  one  of  them  covers  an  area 
nearly  three  times  as  large  as  that  of  any  competitive  city. 
The  streets  are  all  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide,  consist 
ing  of  two  driveways  fifty  feet  wide  and  a  park  of  equal 
width  separating  them. 

Numerous  parks  are  located  at  convenient  distances  from 
one  another.  The  buildings  are  all  at  least  fifty  feet  apart. 
There  is  ample  sunlight.,  pure  air  and  space  for  children  to 
play  or  for  older  people  to  take  recreation. 

There  are  flowers,  fountains,  artificial  lakes  and  trees  in 
profusion.  Monuments  and  statues  have  been  erected  in 
many  localities,  representing  art  and  history  and  illustrat 
ing  the  power  and  beauty  of  co-operation.  The  streets  are 
all  paved  with  asphalt.  Most  of  our  buildings  are  con 
structed  of  brick  or  stone  and  of  the  material  necessary  for 
the  purpose  Idaho  has  inexhaustible  resources. 

In  this  twentieth  year  of  the  Co-operative  Common 
wealth  the  United  States  is  moving  swiftly  and  quietly  to 
that  condition  which  Bellamy  beheld  in  "Looking  Back 
ward.''  Washington  was  the  first  state  to  join  Idaho  as  a 
Co-operative  Commonwealth,  which  it  did  in  1910.  Ore 
gon,  Utah,  Colorado,  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  Kansas,  Ne 
braska,  North  and  South  Dakota,  Wyoming,  Montana  and 
California  followed  in  quick  succession  in  about  the  order 
named.  Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Michigan, 
Tennessee,  Arkansas,  North  and  South  Carolina  and  Texas 
are  almost  ready  to  wheel  into  line. 

As  for  the  other  states  of  the  Union,  the  co-operative 
system  is  gaining  ground  every  day.  In  the  United  States 
Senate  there  are  forty  Co-operative  Senators.  In  the  House 
of  Representatives  there  are  one  hundred  and  forty-three 
Co-operators. 

Through  the  influence  of  Idaho  the  United  States  gov 
ernment  has  purchased  and  now  operates  five  transconti 
nental  lines  of  railroad,  and  it  is  probable  that  it  will,  in  a 


166  THE   CO-OPOLITAN. 

few  years,  acquire  most  of  the  lines  which  are  sufficiently 
valuable  to  warrant  their  operation.  It  owns  all  the  tele 
graph  lines  in  its  territory,  having  purchased  them  as  early 
as  1908. 

Xearly  all  the  cities  of  the  country  have  become  the  own 
ers  of  their  own  public  utilities,  such  as  street-car  lines, 
telephone,  gas,  electric  and  water  systems  and  plants,  and 
from  the  income  derived  from  them  have  almost  succeeded 
in  relieving  their  citizens  from  the  burden  of  taxation. 

But  the  private  department  stores,  labor-saving  ma 
chinery,  trusts  and  monopolies,  which  continue  to  exact 
tribute  from  and  oppress  the  people  for  private  gain,  are 
our  unconscious  and  unintentional  allies,  and  the  thou 
sands  of  good  citizens  who  yearly  move  westward  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  opportunities  which  exist  in  the  Co-opera 
tive  Commonwealths  called  into  being  by  the  success  of  the 
Co-opolitan  Association  do  not  fail  by  their  correspondence 
to  light  the  fires  of  the  new  and  higher  civilization  in  every 
city  and  hamlet  of  the  nation. 

This  success  is  one  which  Idaho  and  her  people  are,  at 
this  time,  disposed  to  credit,  in  a  somewhat  larger  degree 
than  history  will  or  should  approve,  to  the  immortal  senior 
Senator  from  Idaho,  Hon.  John  Thompson,  and  his  associ 
ates  of  twenty  years  ago.  All  honor,  indeed,  to  them! 

But  I  maintain  that  conditions,  circumstances  and  a 
great  nation  of  intelligent, honest, industrious  and  compara 
tively  temperate  laboring  men  and  women  made  their  work 
possible  in  America  when  it  could  not  have  been  successful 
in  any  other  country  in  this  world. 

I  do  not  say  this  from  motives  of  patriotism.  I  say  it 
because  it  appears  to  me  that  the  reasons  to  support  the 
allegation  will  be  recognized  and  approved  when  stated. 

In  the  first  place,  there  has  never  before  been  any  exten 
sive  experiment  with  industrial  co-operation  for  the  benefit 
of  the  workers  engaged  in  it,  where  land  was  the  basis  of 
all  operations,  except  in  ancient  Peru. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  history  has  been  so  far  deprived  of 
the  records  of  that  wonderful  country,  bv  the  destructive 


THE    CO-OPOLITAN.  167 

fanaticism  of  its  Spanish  conquerors,,  that  the  details  of  its 
system  must  remain  obscure. 

But  happily  the  indisputable  fact  remains  to  give  cour 
age  to  co-operators  who  do  battle  in  the  dark  corners  of  the 
world  that  Peru  was  a  co-operative  or  socialistic  state,  and 
that  its  people  were  happy,,  prosperous  and  contented. 

This  fact  suggests  the  very  pertinent  question  whether 
the  people  who  boast  a  high  state  of  civilization  like  that  of 
modern  New  York  and  Boston  are  equal  to  the  establish 
ment  of  a  system  as  just,  as  fair  and  as  equitable  in  the  pro 
duction,  distribution  and  protection  of  wealth  as  the  com 
paratively  ignorant,  simple-minded  and  uncivilized  inhabi 
tants  of  ancient  Peru? 

The  example  of  Idaho  proves  that  we  are.  But  in  Eng 
land,  France  and  Germany  the  co-operators  have  confined 
their  undertakings  almost  exclusively  to  manufactures  and 
distribution.  The  land  has  rarely  entered  into  their  calcu 
lations,  or  when  it  has  been  considered  has  never  been  re 
garded  as  available.  In  Idaho  we  have  made  land  the  chief 
feature  of  our  enterprise,  and  I  maintain  and,  in  fact,  know, 
that  we  could  never  have  succeeded  in  any  marked  degree 
if  we  had  not  done  so. 

A  commonwealth  which  has  not  the  title  to  its  own  land 
is  like  a  house  suspended  in  the  air.  Even  the  co-operative 
societies  engaged  in  manufacture  and  distribution  manu 
facture  and  distribute  what  comes,  primarily,  from  the 

land-  Beyjcroft  Library 

When  they  receive  the  raw  material  to  manufacture  or 
distribute  it  has  been  handled  by  a  number  of  traders, 
brokers  and  other  middlemen  and  its  price  increased  op- 
•pressively.  We  avoided  all  this  by  owning  the  land. 

In  England  and  other  densely  populated  countries  the 
rich  land  has  all  been  taken  and  the  owner,  whether  lord 
or  peasant,  will  not  part  with  it  except  for  a  large  sum  of 
money.  The  co-operator  is  thus  excluded,  in  those  coun 
tries,  from  the  use  of  land.  It  costs  him  nearly  as  much  in 
spot  cash  to  acquire  it  as  the  brokers  and  traders  take  from 


168  THE    CO-OPOLITAN. 

him,  through  a  series  of  years,  in  profits  on  the  raw  product 
of  land. 

Now  in  Idaho  land  was  cheap,  and  cheap  land  is  the 
co-operator's  salvation. 

I  also  believe  that  we  were  fortunate  in  locating  our 
colonies  in  Idaho.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  after  we  had 
acquired  the  land  of  Deer  Valley,  placed  it  under  irrigation 
and  rendered  it  highly  productive,  we  had  the  use  of  mil 
lions  of  acres  of  grazing  lands  for  our  herds  and  flocks. 

I  cannot  conceive  that  a  co-operative  society  could  begin 
its  career  under  more  favorable  conditions  than  did  the  Co- 
opolitan.  It  could  not  have  found  a  better  location  for  its 
productive  farm  and  city  in  any  other  state.  It  had  the  best 
facilities  for  irrigation  and  controlling  all  the  waters  neces 
sary  to  render  its  land  productive;  it  had  the  means  to  at 
tach  its  members  to  the  common  purpose. 

It  was  able  to  avail  itself  of  near  and  high-priced  markets. 

Better  than  all  this,  it  had  the  open  ranges  embracing 
millions  of  acres  of  good  grazing  land,  which  it  was  permit 
ted  by  the  laws  to  use  without  cost.  If  we  had  not  pos 
sessed  this  advantage,  my  judgment  is  that  our  struggle 
would  have  been  increased  and  prolonged. 

I  believe  that  cattle  and  sheep  were  the  most  advanta 
geous  kind  of  wealth  for  us  to  handle.  We  allowed  them  to 
roam  at  will,  with  but  few  attendants,  over  our  ranges,  and 
we  were  at  little  expense  to  care  for  and  feed  them.  Be 
sides  this  it  was  a  form  of  wealth  which  wras  capable  of 
transporting  itself  to  some  extent.  Had  we  attempted  a 
different  location  where  there  were  no  ranges  and  put  our 
capital  into  almost  any  other  form  of  property  we  would 
have  failed. 

These  natural  advantages  and  the  system  whose  develop 
ment  I  have  endeavored  in  these  pages  to  trace  are,  in  my 
judgment,  responsible  for  the  success  which  the  Co-opoli- 
tan  Association  has  made  in  twenty  years. 


I/ENVOI. 


My  narrative,  kind  reader,  is  finished,  but  if  you  have  fol 
lowed  it  thus  far  you  will  doubtless  feel  some  interest  in  the 
present  condition  of  some  of  its  chief  characters  and  fea 
tures.  Of  Senator  Thompson  I  need  say  only  that  he  is  one 
of  the  most  honored  and  famous  individualities  in  this 
world. 

Being  a  native  of  England,  he  is  not  eligible  to  the  Presi 
dency  of  the  republic,  else  I  verily  believe  he  would  be 
chosen  to  usher  in  the  Co-operative  Commonwealth  which 
seems  to  be  one  of  the  probabilities  in  the  near  future.  But 
Senator  Thompson  is  in  the  prime  of  manhood  and  you 
can  be  sure  that  he  will  be  one  of  the  chief  actors  in  the 
coming  change. 

Mrs.  Braden  is.  as  famous  in  her  sphere  as  Senator 
Thompson  is  in  his.  Having  written,  as  the  world  knows, 
five  novels  of  the  highest  merit,  all  of  which  have  been  re 
ceived  with  extraordinary  favor,  the  Association  has  re 
warded  her  by  remitting  her  entire  term  of  service  in  the 
Industrial  Army.  This  has  not  had  the  effect  of  silencing 
her  muse  by  any  means.  She  is  as  industrious  as  if  both 
fame  and  fortune  were  wanting.  The  fires  of  true  genius 
do  not  require  the  inspiration  of  greed  to  make  them  burn 
more  brightly. 

Mr.  Kdmunds  is  now  an  old  man.  He  will  accept  the  ease 
which  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service  enables  him  to 
enjoy.  Although  seventy  years  of  age,  he  is  strong  and 
hearty,  and  we  hope  may  live,  as  he  seems  likely  to,  for 
many  years. 

Henry  B.  Henderson  died  three  years  ago.  A  bronze 
statue  of  him  stands  in  the  park  on  Commonwealth  Ave 
nue,  in  front  of  the  Council  Hall,  and  I  am  told  that  the 
people  of  Shoshone  and  Idaho  Falls  are  arranging  to  have 


170  THE   CO-OPOLITAN. 

similar  statues  erected  and  paid  for  by  subscription  in  their 
cities. 

Boise  City  is  a  beautiful  city  of  fifty  thousand  inhabi 
tants.  The  municipal  indebtedness  of  the  old  city  was  long 
ago  purchased  by  the  Co-opolitan  Association  for  a  small 
sum  and  the  flood  of  co-operative  enterprise  poured  over 
and  through  the  old  townsite  at  once. 

The  city  of  CO-OPOLIS  is  not,  as  I  have  already  stated, 
the  largest  city  in  Idaho.  It  contains  a  population  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  It  is  the  oldest  co-operative 
city  in  the  state  and  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world.  Its 
buildings  are  substantially  constructed;  its  parks  are  well 
kept  and  better  finished  than  are  those  of  most  other  cities, 
and  its  trees  are  older  and  more  mature.  It  is  believed  that 
it  will  be  the  favorite  city  of  residence  for  the  members 
whose  terms  of  service  in  the  Industrial  Army  expire.  At 
present  it  is  the  seat  of  government  in  the  Association 
domain. 

Idaho  is  still  a  "Light  on  the  Mountains,"  as  its  ancient 
name  implies,  and  its  effulgence  had  found  a  shining  way 
into  thousands  of  homes  throughout  the  world. 

Truly  may  it  be  said  that  her  mission  is  being  grandly 
accomplished  and  that  the  people  that  dwelt  in  darkness 
have  seen  a  great  light. 

Thank  God!     The  higher  civilization  is  here. 

[THE  END.] 


THE  SOCIAL  DEMOCRACY  OE  AMERICA 

lias  as  one  of  its  main  objects  the  peaceable  establishment, 
in  some  such  manner  as  outlined  in  this  book,  of  the 

CO-OPKKATIVE  COMMONWEALTH. 
We  believe  in  the  efficacy  of  object  lessons,  and  the  So 
cial  Democracy  of  America  is  working  for  and  advocating 
the  Co-operative  Commonwealth,  where  all  shall  receive 
their  full  share  of  the  wealth  they  create  and  the  Brother 
hood  of  Man  shall  bo  an  actual  fact.  In  order  to  do  its  work 
in  establishing  this  ideal  state  .of  perfect  justice  between 
man  and  man  the 

( 'OLONIZATION  COMMISSION 

of  the  Social  Democracy  of  America  has  formulated  plans 
and  methods  for  putting  the  ideas  contained  in  this  book 
into  actual  operation. 

If  one  million  working  men  would  pay  ten  cents  each  into 
a  fund  to  help  such  a  plan,  it  would  mean  one  hundred  thou 
sand  dollars  a  month,  or  one  million  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars  a  year.  If  one  hundred  thousand  should  do  so,  it 
would  mean  one  thousand  dollars  a  month  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand  dollars  a  year.  In  five  years,  with 
judicious  management  and  cautions  expenditure  of  such 
funds,  the  results  would  be  marvelous,  especially  as  a  dollar 
in  the  hands  of  co-operators  would  prove  far  more  efficient 
than  a  dollar  employed  in  the  extravagant  and  wasteful 
channels  of  competition. 


172  MEN  WANTED. 

Send  a  dollar  for  thirty-four  sample  copies  and  make  thirty- 
four  converts  to  the  cause  of  reform. 

Six  cents  will  pay  for  "Merrie  England/'  a  book  of  190 
pages,  which  has  had  a  sale  of  850,000  copies  in  England 
and  has  only  begun  to  sell  in  America.  It  is  a  popular  yet 
scientific  statement  of  the  principles  of  Socialism.  It  is  ad 
dressed  to  the  people  who  are  prejudiced  against  anything 
of  the  kind.  Get  a  man  to  read  "Merrie  England"  and  the 
book  will  do  the  rest.  We  mail  two  copies  for  10  cents, 
twelve  for  50  cents,  twenty-five  for  $1.00,  a  hundred  for 
$3.50. 

Ten  cents  will  pay  for  "President  John  Smith,"  by  Fred 
erick  Upham  Adams,  a  book  of  300  pages.  It  has  passed 
through  twenty-five  editions  in  a  year.  It  is  a  success  be 
cause  it  points  out  practical  methods  for  intelligent  po 
litical  action  by  which  the  people  of  the  United  States  may 
take  possession  of  the  government  and  run  it  in  their  own 
interest.  We  mail  a  dozen  copies  for  $1.00;  fifty  copies 
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Twenty-five  cents  will  pay  for  any  one  of  the  .following 
valuable  books: 

The  Co-opolitan,  by  Zebina  Forbush. 

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Man  or  Dollar,  Which?  by  a  newspaper  man. 

From  Earth's  Center,  by  S.  Byron  Welcome. 

A  Breed  of  Barren  Metal,  by  J.  W.  Bennett. 

Money  Found,  by  Thomas  E.  Hill. 

The  six  books,  or  six  copies  of  any  one  of  them,  will  be 
sent  postpaid  on  receipt  of  one  dollar.  Special  terms  to 
agents,  with  full  list  of  reform  literature,  will  be  mailed 
upon  request. 

Address 

CHARLES  H.  KERR  &  COMPAXY.  Publishers, 

56  Fifth  Avenue,  Chicago. 


MEX  WAXTED. 


We  fiianly  believe  that  in  "The  Co-opolitan"  we  are  giv 
ing  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  a  book  that  will  be  of 
untold  value  in  hastening  the  progress  of  human  brother 
hood  and  a  civilization  based  on  justice.  We  believe  the 
people  are  ready  for  this  book,  and  that  any  intelligent  man 
who  believes  in  co-operation  and  knows  how  to  express  his 
ideas  can  make  a  good  living  by  selling  copies.  We  want 
to  hear  from  such  men. 

We  also  want  to  hear  from  {hose  who  have  no  time  for 
selling  books  but  who  believe  intensely  in  human  brother 
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under  which  the  people  are  struggling  is  directly  opposed 
to  the  teachings  of  Jesus. 

Two  cents  will  pay  for  ''The  New  Democracy,"  by  Fred 
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no  reformer  will  consent  to  do  without  if  he  once  sees  it. 


174  THE  SOCIAL  DEMOCRACY  OF  AMERICA. 

The  three  members  of  the  commission  were  appointed 
August  1,  1897,  and  their  work  was  outlined  before  the 
publication  of  this  book. 

The  manuscript  was  read  by  one  of  the  members  of  the 
commission  and  received  his  hearty  commendation.,  as  pre 
senting  arguments  of  a  high  character  in  favor  of  coloniza 
tion.  Many  ideas  elucidating  legal  points  are  also  brought 
out  in  the  clearest  manner. 

The  Commission  is  attempting  to  work  out  practically  the 
main  idea  presented  in  this  book.  Any  reader  who  becomes 
desirous  of  aiding  in  this  noble 'work,  or  who  wishes  infor 
mation  concerning  it,  should  address  Secretary  Colonization 
.Commission,  S.  D.  of  A., 

504  Trude  Bldg., 

Chicago,  111. 


THE 

LEGAL    REVOLUTION 
OF  1902. 


BY 
A  LAW-ABIDING  REVOLUTIONIST. 


CHICAGO: 

CHARLES  H.  KERR  &  COMPANY. 
1898. 


The  following  specimen  pages  of 

"THE  LEGAL  REVOLUTION  OF  1902" 

are  published  by  permission  of  the  author  from  advance 
proofs  of  the  book,  which  is  now  in  press.  Every  loyal 
reformer  will  be  interested  in  this  new  work,  which  out 
lines  a  radical  and  aggressive  political  programme  to  be 
carried  out  in  the  near  future.  The  book  will  be  hand 
somely  printed  on  heavy  book  paper  of  extra  quality,  and 
will  be  sold  at  fifty  cents  in  paper  and  one  dollar  in  cloth, 
with  liberal  terms  to  dealers,  agents  and  newspapers. 


PREFACE. 

Legal  Revolution  of  1902"  purports  to  be  a 
history  of  social  conditions  in  the  United  States  for  a 
period  of  about  fifteen  years  following  the  year  1897.  It 
attempts  to  picture  changes  and  reforms  amounting  to 
an  industrial  revolution — which  I  think  should,  and  will, 
1)0  made — as  if  the  country  had  already  passed  through 
this  period.  All  matters  of  fact  recorded  as  having 
taken  place  before  1897,  or  '''before  the  Revolution,"  are 
true;  quotations  from  newspapers  and  other  publications, 
and  utterances  of  men,  prior  to  thaj-  year,  are  also  true; 
whatever  is  mentioned  as  occurring  afterward  is,  of 
course,  fiction. 

Some  of  the  characters  in  this  narrative  bear  the  same 
names  as  distinguished  persons  of  to-day,  but  no  pretense 
nor  claim  is  made  that  they  speak  or  represent  in  any 
manner  the  views  or  sentiments  of  those  whose  names 
they  may  happen  to  bear.  The  characters  have  been 
named  to  give  added  interest  to  the  story,  to  connect  it 
more  plainly  with  the  evident  trend  of  social  and  political 
conditions,  and  to  more  clearly  elucidate  the  opportu 
nities  which  lie  within  the  power  of  men. 

The  principal  idea  of  the  work  is  to  show  the  people 
their  power,  wherein  it  lies,  and  the  methods  of  exercis 
ing  it  to  right  their  grievances,  if  they  feel  that  such 
exist. 

If  I  succeed  in  bringing  all  who  read  these  pages  to 
a  full  understanding  of  the  power  of  the  people,  and 


4  PREFACE: 

how  to  use  that  power,  and  wherein  lies  the  basis,  the 
very  foundation,  of  our  institutions,  I  shall  be  content, 
even  though  they  do  not  agree  with  this  story  as  to  the 
extent  of  existing  evils,  or  the  measures  it  inaugurates  to 
alleviate  them.  While  endeavoring  to  clothe  my  ideas 
in  an  interesting  and  readable  narrative,  some  exaggera 
tions  have  been  made;  yet,  in  confidence  to  the  reader,  it 
must  be  said  that,  in  the  main,  I  believe  in  every  line  of 
the  work;  in  the  principle  of  every  reform  proposed;  in 
every  change  pictured  and  result  prophesied.  Indeed,  I 
can  see  no  other  road  for  a  law-abiding,  intelligent  and 
prosperous  people  to  travel,  and  no  other  possible  desti 
nation  to  be  reached,  than  the  one  herein  imperfectly 
portrayed.  * 

A  LAW-ABIDING  REVOLUTIONIST. 


THE  LEGAL  REVOLUTION  OF  1902. 

CHAPTER  I. 

"Well,  mother,  I'll  run  down  and  get  the  mail,"  said 
John  Brown  to  his  wife,  as  he  started  for  the  village  post- 
office.  On  arriving  there  he  found  his  "grist"  of  daily 
papers  that  regularly  visited  his  home,  and  also  two  let 
ters.  One  was  addressed  "Hon.  John  Brown,  Member 
of  the  Illinois  Legislature."  He  looked  at  it  and  inci 
dentally  remarked  to  a  friend  with  whom  he  was  convers 
ing:  "I  wonder  who  that  is  from — ' Return  in  five  days 
to  Mark  Mishler,  Attorney-at-Law,  Springfield,  111.';  I 
guess  it  is  not  of  much  importance  to  me;  I  don't  know 
any  such  person."  And  with  that  he  put  it,  unopened, 
into  his  pocket,  and  looked  at  the  other. 

"Indeed,  New  York,  from  brother  Benjamin!  I 
haven't  heard  from  him  in  a  long  time.  Mother  and  I 
were  just  talking  about  him  and  wondering  if  he  had 
forgotten  us.  She'll  want  to  hear  the  news,  and  I  had 
hotter  go  right  back  to  the  house,"  and  he  started,  carry 
ing  the  letter  and  papers  in  his  hand.  It  was  but  a  few 
minutes'  walk,  and  he  was  soon  home. 

"See  here,  mother,  a  letter  from  Ben,"  he  said,  starting 
to  tear  it  open. 

:"Is  it  possible!"  she  exclaimed/ with  considerable  sur 
prise;  "we  haven't  heard  from  him  since  his  wife  died. 
He  is  no  hand  to  write,  and  I'll  warrant  it  is  news  of  im 
portance;  probably  sad  news,  or  we  wouldn't  hear  from 


6  THE     LEGAL     REVOLUTION     OF     1902 

him  now,  You  remember  he  never  wrote  us  that  Glen 
(his  only  child)  was  born  until  he  was  two  years  old.  Of 
course  he  wrote  during  that  time,  but  never  mentioned 
that  fact,  and  it  was  so  strange,  since  he  always  writes  so 
much  about  him  now,  when  he  writes  at  all." 

By  this  time  the  letter  was  opened,  the  spectacles  ad 
justed  to  his  nose,  and  Mr.  Brown  began  to  read: 
"My  Dear  Brother  and  Sister — 

"You  know  how  difficult  it  is  for  me  to  write,  and  I  am 
sure  you  won't  think  strange  because  of  not  having  heard 
from  me  before.  I  often  think  of  you  both,  and  have 
frequently  resolved  to  write,  but  have  neglected  it  until 
days,  weeks  and  months  have  slipped  away.  I  am  in 
deep  trouble  now.  You  know  that  ten  years  ago  the 
company  set  me  back  to  flagman.  The  wages  for  such  a 
position  are  very  low;  I  have  been  able  only  to  live  and 
keep  the  family,  and  have  found  it  impossible  to  lay  by 
anything.  A  year  ago  an  accident,  a  collision,  occurred 
in  the  yards  between  a  couple  of  switching  freight  trains. 
It  was  charged  to  me  and  I  was  'laid  off.'  Perhaps  I 
was  to  blame.  I  worked  long  hours  and  was  very  tired. 
I  am  getting  old,  anyway.  My  eyes,  and  faculties  as 
well,  are  getting  dim.  Since  then  I  have  had  no  work, 
and  have  employed  my  time  about  the  garden  and  with 
my  poultry,  out  of  which  I  have  made  a  little. 

"'But  Glen,  though  only  sixteen,  had  completed  school, 
and  had  also  learned  the  glassblower's  trade  in  the  fac 
tory  here,  and  with  my  pension  and  what  little  I  could 
earn  was  able  to  support  me  and  keep  the  house  up  in 
good  shape,  so  I  did  not  feel  badly.  In  my  old  age  I 
felt  I  had  earned  a  rest,-  arid  Glen,  noble  boy!  was  satis 
fied,  and  insisted  that  I  should  have  it.  But  now,  just 
as  he  has  his  trade  well  learned,  and  had,  as  we  supposed, 
the  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood  through  life  for  him 
self  and  a  way  of  supporting  me  in  my  old  age,  improved 
machines  were  introduced  into  many  of  the  larger  fac- 


THE     LEGAL     REVOLUTION     OP     1902  7 

tories,  that  almost  entirely  displaced  the  glassblower  and 
absolutely  ruined  his  trade.  They  were  not  put  in  the 
factory  here,  but  it  was  seen  that  the  factory  would  be 
unable  to  compete  with  the  machine-equipped  factories, 
and  that  they  must  put  them  in  or  close  up. 

" After  the  machines  began  to  be  used  it  was  evident, 
that  half  the  factories  would  supply  the  market.  So 
the  big  ones  all  joined  together  into  one  big  company,  or 
trust,  and  closed  up  a  number  of  the  factories.  The  one 
here  went  into  the  big  company,  and  the  Board  of  Direct 
ors  of  the  big  concern  voted  it  to  be  one  of  the  factories 
that  would  be  permanently  closed.  Lots  of  the  ma 
chinery  has  been  moved  away,  and  there  is  little  probabil 
ity  of  it  ever  being,  operated  again.  At  any  rate  it  has 
now  been  closed  for  three  months,  and  Glen  has  been  un 
able  to  find  a  day's  work  of  any  kind  to  do,  and  there  is 
little  hope  of  any  here.  Glassblowers  have  been  laid  off 
in  all  the  factories  that  are  still  running,  and  those  now 
retained  are  taken  from  the  force  of  older  employes  and 
there  is  no  chance  whatever  for  a  new  man  now.  So 
Glen  will  probably  never  find  work  again  at  his  trade. 

"And  the  town!  You  have  no  idea  of  the  condition 
here.  The  glass  factory  was  almost  the  sole  industry. 
There  is  not  another  enterprise  of  any  importance.  Two 
thousand  men,  who  fed  ten  thousand  people,  or  the  whole 
town,  are  thrown  out  of  employment  at  the  mandate  of  a 
trust,  and  the  whole  place  is  ruined.  No  western  cyclone 
ever  wrought  worse  havoc,  because  after  one  of  them  has 
passed  the  people  can  go  to  work  and  rebuild,  but  there 
is  nothing  here  they  can  do  to  get  even  bread  to  eat. 

"The  very  day  it  was  known  the  factory  would  be  per 
manently  closed  residence  property  depreciated  one-half, 
and  in  fact  it  is  scarcely  worth  anything  now,  and  will 
not  sell  at  any  price.  'My  place,  which  cost  me  a  life 
time  of  toil,  and  for  which' I  paid  $2,500  principal  and  no 
end  of  interest,  will  not  sell  to-day  for  $500. 

"But  the  question  with  the  people  here  is,  not  how 


8  THE     LEGAL     REVOLUTION     OP     1902 

much  their  property  has  depreciated  in  value,  but  how 
they  are  to  get  work  by  which  to  earn  a  living. 

"Glen  and  I  think  we  want  to  go  West.  We  would 
like  to  go  out  where  you  are,  and  want  to  know  what  you 
think  about  it.  Can  we  make  a  living  there?  We  have 
been  thinking  if  we  could  get  a  little  patch  of  ground 
near  some  good-sized  town  we  could,  by  gardening  and 
poultry  raising  (at  which  I  am  becoming  expert,  by  the 
way),  get  along  and  make  a  living;  and  Glen  is  a  bright 
scholar,  and  I  have  been  thinking  that  perhaps  he  could 
get  work  of  some  kind  out  there. 

"I  don't  want  to  be  a  burden  on  you,  but  God  knows  I 
will  be  on  the  state  if  things  continue  as  they  are.  And 
Glen,. he  deserves  a  better  fate  than  the  world  seems  to 
have  allotted  him. 

"Please  let  me  hear  from  you  soon.     With  kind  re 
gards  to  sister  Jane  and  yourself, 
"I  am,  your  brother, 

"BEXJAMIX  BROWN." 

Mr.  Brown  was  visibly  affected  as  he  slowly  read  the 
letter,  and  tears  filled  the  eyes  of  both  himself  and  his 
wife  by  the  time  it  was  completed. 

"Well,  mother,  what  had  I  better  write  him?" 

To  which  the  good  woman  quickly  replied:  "Send 
for  them  both  to  come  at  once  and  make  their  home  with 
us — at  least  for  the  present.  You  will  soon  go  to  Spring 
field,,  and  will  be  gone  all  winter  attending  the  Legisla 
ture.  You  expect  to  hire  someone  to  attend  the  stock 
ajid  the  farm  while  you  are  away,  and  you  always  hire  in 
the  summer.  Perhaps  they  might  like  farm  work,  and 
suit  you  better  than  anyone  you  can  hire,  and  so  stay 
permanently. 

"The  Lord  has  taken  all  our  dear  children  away,"  she 
continued;  "and  if  Glen  is  the  boy  his  father  has  always 


THE     LEGAL    REVOLUTION     OF    1902  23 

"'Fellow  reformers,,  would  you  be  free?  Would  you 
see  the  regimen  of  corporate  power  and  class  despotism 
at  an  end?  Would  you  see  the  shackles  stricken  forever 
from  the  limbs  of  humanity,  and  behold  emancipation — 
the  rebirth?  Do  you  believe  that  this  can  come  through 
the  ballot?  Xo!  You  do  not. 

"  'Have  not  the  reformers  spent  their  lives,  their  for 
tunes,,  and  their  energies  in  the  cause  of  political  reform? 
Have  they  not  seen  the  cunning  and  unscrupulous  always 
victorious,  emerging  from  every  campaign  master  of  the 
spoils?  Have  you  any  hopes  that  this  will  be  changed  in 
the  future?  The  past  is  one  long  protest  against  the 
ballot  as  an  instrument  of  reformation.' 

"Scarcely  a  day  passes  that  I  do  not  receive  one  or  more 
appeals  to  join  one  or  the  other  of  the  revolutionary  or-- 
'tiers  being  formed  in  this  country,  and  offers- of  money 
and  arms  are  frequently  received  if  I  will  give  my  efforts 
to  the  cause  of  revolution.  Thus  far  I  have  persistently 
declined  to  give  aid  or  encouragement  to  such  move 
ments.  But  if,  through  the  writings  of  such  men  as  Pri 
vate  Palzell,  revolution  comes,  in  spite  of  all  efforts  to 
prevent  it,  I  will  not  be  found  among  the  cowards,  nor 
on  the  side  of  the  plutocratic  classes.  * 

",T.  R.  SOVEREIGN." 

"Let  me  see  your  scrap-book,  please,"  said  Glen.  It 
was  handed  to  him,  and  he  settled  down  to  read,  while  the 

others  conversed.  Bancroft  Litarary 

"That  letter  appeared  some  time  ago,"  said  Benjamin, 
"and  I'll  warrant  it  has  been  read  by  every  member  of  a 
labor  union.  I  tell  you  something  is  going  to  happen. 
Where,  or  when,  or  what  it  is  going  to  be  I  don't  know, 
but  I  do  know  the  power  of  the  labor  unions,  and  doubt 
not  they  will  play  an  important  part  in  the  struggle.  I 
haven't  a  particle  of  doubt  but  those  societies  which  Mr. 
Sovereign  mentions  are  being  formed.  It  is  this  great 


24  THE     LEGAL    REVOLUTION     OP     1902 

chasm  between  the  rich  and  the  poor  that  is  causing  the 
trouble.  The  laboring  people  are  piling  up  wealth,  and 
it  is  all  being  appropriated  by  the  rich,  and  the  poor  find 
it  harder  each  day  to  make  a  living.  This  is  especially 
true  in  the  factories  of  the  East,  where  labor-saving  ma 
chines  are  displacing  thousands  of  laborers." 

"Don't  you  think,"  said  Mr.  Smith,  "that  their  further 
introduction  should  be  prohibited?" 

"The  labor  unions,"  was  the  reply,  "do  now,  to  some 
extent.  The  shoe  manufacturers  of  Lynn  have  not  dared 
to  introduce  a  certain  lasting  machine  recently  invented, 
because  the  lasters'  union  has  declared  against  it,  and  yet 
it  is  claimed  that  that  machine  will  revolutionize  the  shoe 
business.  You  see  that  shows  the  strength  of  the  unions, 
and  what  they  can  do  if  they  get  started.  Oh,  there  are 
bloody  times  ahead  for  us.  I  believe  one  of  your  West 
ern  governors  said  lately:  'The  high  buildings  and  grand 
palaces  of  our  big  cities  will  be  spattered  with  the  lungs 
and  livers  of  humanity  before  this  thing  is  adjusted.' 
He  was  called  a  crank,  but  he  was  not  far  amiss." 

"I  am  inclined  to  think,"  said  Mr.  Smith,  "that  you 
take  a  too  serious  view  of  matters.  Your  brother  tells 
me  the  glass  factory  in  your  town  was  permanently  closed 
by  a  trust.  Is  that  possible?  I  never  heard  of  such  an 
outrage.  I  should  think  the  managers  of  the  trusts 
would  be  in  clanger  of  their  lives." 

"Xow  you  are  coming  to  it.  See!  it  makes  a  revolu 
tionist  out  of  you  to  even  hear  of  such  a  thing,"  said  Ben 
jamin;  "'yet  you  don't  see  revolution  coming.  Suppose 
you  knew  nothing  but  one  trade,  and  you  found  the  fac 
tory  in  which  you  had  worked  all  your  life  permanently 


THE     LEGAL     REVOLUTION     OP     1902  .  25 

closed  by  a  trust,  and  it  was  impossible  to  ever  again 
work  at  your  trade.  When  you  become  an  actor  in  such 
an  affair  it  is  worse  than  a  picture  in  your  imagination. 
If  you  were  placed  in  that  position  you  would  see  what 
is  coming." 

"But  has  it  really  been  permanently  closed  by  the 
trust?''7  he  again  asked. 

"Closed!  Why,  certainly,  and  it  is  nothing  new. 
Hundreds  of  factories  have  been  permanently  shut  down 
by  trusts,  in  order  to  decrease  production,  raise  prices 
and  throw  thousands  of  laborers  out  of  work." 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Smith,  "I  guess  you  are  right,  but 
what  is  it  going  to  be,,  and  what  are  they  going  to  do?" 

"0,  I  don't  know.  They  will  at  least  have  revenge. 
It  may  be  we'll  have  anarchy,  and  the  fulfillment  of  the 
bloody  scenes  painted  in  that  wonderful  book,  'Caesar's 
Column.'  Have  you  read  it?  It  is  fearful.  Enough 
to  curdle  a  man's  blood." 

At  this  point  Glen,  who  was  still  looking  over  his 
uncle's  scrap-book,  said:  "I  believe  Uncle  John  is  get 
ting  to  be  quite  a  Socialist,  judging  from  these  clippings. 
Let  me  read  some  of  them.  They  are  mostly  from  the 
metropolitan  dailies": 

"WANT  IN  THE  CITIES. 

"A  few  days  ago  we  quoted  from  an  editorial  in  the 
New  York  Tribune  to  show  that  there  never  before  was 
such  great  distress  in  the  chief  city  in  the  country  as  at 
present,  and  that  the  victims  were  not  merely  laboring 
men,  unable  to  find  employment,  but  professional  people 
and  small  merchants  as  well.  The  Times-Herald  editor 
ially  testifies  that  want  is  as  general  and  intense  in  Chi 
cago  as  in  New  York.  It  says: 


26  THE     LEGAL     REVOLUTION     OF     1902 

"  Terhaps  since  the  great  fire  there  has  not  been  a 
keener  occasion  for  generous  giving.  The  country  is 
now  in  the  fourth  year  of  a  period  of  hard  times.  Very 
rich  men  have  had  their  fortunes  trimmed,  so  to  speak; 
moderately  rich  men  have  been  reduced  to  a  sharp  count 
ing  of  the  cost  of  casual  luxuries.  All  classes  have  suf 
fered  in  degree,  but  thousands  and  thousands  of  those 
brave  folks  whose  only  hope  in  life  is  to  fight  for  the  ship 
till  they  fall  face  forward  fighting  on  the  deck  have  been 
precipitated  from  a  hard-earned  and  perilous  independ 
ence  into  a  black  and  hopeless  poverty.  *  *  *  We 
do  not  share  the  opinion  of  the  versifier  who  wrote  "Or 
ganized  charity,  cold  as  ice,  in  the  name  of  a  hard,  sta 
tistical  Christ,"  but  we  submit  that  the  present  crisis, 
when  ill-clad,  half-famished  shapes  confront  us  on  the 
streets;  when  the  cold  pinches  the  denizens  of  hovels  and 
tenements;  when  the  children  in  a  thousand  squalid 
homes  cry  for  sustenance,  when  women  fight  for  bread 
at  the  county  agent's  door,  and  able-bodied  men  swarm 
on  the  railroad  tracks,  eagerly  begging  fragments  of 
coal — this  crisis  is  not  to  be  met  with  perfunctory  meas 
ures.' 

"In  another  article  published  in  its  news  columns  the 
Times-Herald  declares  that: 

"  'Chicago  has  8,000  families  actually  starving  to 
death. 

"  'It  has  40,000  wives,  husbands  and  children  begging 
for  a  pittance  of  food  to  keep  body  and  soul  together — 
huddled  into  single  rooms  and  freezing  in  the  blizzard 
that  visited  the  city  yesterday.' ': 

The  next  item  reads: 

"DISTRESS  IN  GREAT  CITIES. 

"The  public  authorities  and  organized  charities  of  Chi 
cago  are  having  more  than  they  can  do  to  care  for  the 
tens  of  thousands  of  destitute  people  in  the  Garden  City, 
and  the  New  York  Tribune  confesses  that  the  want  In 


THE     LEGAL     REVOLUTION     OF     1902  9  7 

that  town  is  as  dire  as  in  Chicago.  cAt  no  moment  within 
the  memory  of  the  present  generation/  says  the  Tribune, 
'has  the  number  of  unemployed  in  this  city  been  so  large 
as  just  now,  and  never  before  has  the  strain  on  public  and 
private  charity  been  so  severe  as  during  this  winter  sea 
son  (1896-97).  It  is  not  merely  the  laboring  classes — 
that  is  to  say,  the  classes  who  may  be  regarded  as  within 
facile  reach  of  philanthropic  relief — who  are  the  suffer 
ers, -but  those  who  may  be  described  as  professional  men, 
clerks,  the  salesmen,  the  architects  and  the  literary  men. 
Few,  save  the  clergy  and  physicians,  have  any  idea  of  the 
extent  to  which  privation  and  actual  want  prevail  among 
these  victims  of  the  bad  times  that  are  marking  the  close 
of  the  deplorable  Democratic  administration,  and  doctor 
and  parson  alike  wax  eloquent  about  the  destitution  of 
the  families  of  those  unfortunate  men  who,  while  eager 
for  work  and  ready  to  do  anything  for  the  sake  of  a  liv 
ing,  are  for  the  first  time  in  their  lives  unable  to  find 
employment  of  any  kind.'  After  adverting  to  the  sym 
pathy  extended  to  the  unfortunate  inmates  of  Sing  Sing 
and  other  prisons,  who  are  losing  their  sanity  because 
there  is  no  work  to  employ  them,  the  Tribune  adds:  "It 
may  be  questioned  whether  the  first  duty  of  the  people  of 
New  York  is,  not  toward  those  of  their  more  honest  and 
honorable  fellow-citizens  whose  enforced  idleness,  due  to 
their  inability  to  find  any  employment,  is  driying  them, 
too,  to  the-  verge  of  insanity — an  insanity  caused  not  so 
much  by  the  brooding  over  their  own  unhappy  lot  as  by 
the  spectacle  of  their  wives  and  little  ones  literally  starv 
ing  before  their  eyes.  It  is  not  merely  on  the  ground  of 
philanthropy  and  charity  that  some  means  or  other 
should  be  devised  for  their  relief,  but  on  the  score  of  pol 
icy  and  economy.  For  the  less  enforced  idleness  there  is 
outside  the  prison  the  fewer  convicts  there  will  be  within 
its  walls.'  K 

The  next  clipping  is  as  follows: 


CHAPTER  II. 

In  November,  1897,  when  evil  forebodings  were  every 
where  hovering  about,  Mark  Mishler,  a  robust,  big- 
hearted,  good-natured  lawyer,  sat  one  day  in  his  office  at 
Springfield,  111.  He  had  just  been  beaten  in  a  case  he 
had  tried  before  the  Supreme  Court  because  the  law  on 
which  he  based  the  case  was  declared  by  the  Court  to  be 
unconstitutional.  He  never  was  mad;  his  good  soul 
would  not  let  him;  but  if  ever  he  was  perplexed  it  was 
now.  His  mind  reverted  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
State.  He  read  it  over,  as  he  had  done  many  times  be 
fore,  but  now  he  took  a  special  interest  in  reviewing  it. 
As  he  read  and  reread  he  said  to  himself:  "Thank  God! 
There  is  one  thing  bigger  than  a  Court — that  is  the  Con 
stitution,  and  the  people  are  above  that  yet.  They  make 
the  Constitution  itself.  It  ought  to  have«more  laws  em 
bodied  in  it,  and  this  one  should  have  been  a  part  of  it." 

And  as  he  thought  on  his  mind  reverted  to  the  Consti 
tution  of  the  United  States.  He  turned  to  it  and  scanned 
it  over  for  the  first  time  in  many  years,  perhaps  since  he 
was  a  law  student.  He  had  little  practice  in  the  United 
States  Courts,  and  had  had  no  occasion  to  read  it.  After 
he  had  finished  he  leaned  back  in  his  chair  in  a  meditative 
mood,  saying  to  himself:  "There  is  the  foundation  of 
all  our  institutions,  State  and  National.  That  was  the 
beginning.  It  was  the  corner-stone  of  the  Republic,  and 
on  it  all  that  is  good  in  this  country  is  based." 


THE     LEGAL     REVOLUTION     OF     1902  33 

He  thought  on,  and  added  to  himself:  "And  all  that 
is  evil,  then,  must  likewise  find  its  basis  there." 

The  very  thought  surprised  him.  In  deep  meditation, 
and  with  strange,  unaccountable  feelings,  he  continued 
until  he  read  the  article  recognizing  human  slavery,  and 
declaring  the  slave  trade  should  not  be  prohibited  before 
the  vear  1808.  Pie  always  knew  that,  yet  he  could  hardly 
believe  his  eyes.  He  read  on  till  he  came  to  the  amend 
ment  freeing  the  slaves,  adopted  nearly  three-quarters  of 
a  century  afterward. 

"Well,"  he  gasped,  almost  aloud,  "I  knew  that;  I 
helped  pass  that  very  amendment  freeing  the  slaves  and, 
as  we  were  charged  at  the  time,  'confiscating  millions  of 
dollars'  worth  of  property.'  But  lawyer  as  I  am,  with 
twenty-five  years  of  practice,  I  never  thought  but  Lin 
coln's  proclamation  freed  the  slaves." 

He  dropped  back  in  his  chair,  lost  for  half  an  hour  in 
silent  study.  As  he  sat,  entirely  consumed  in  his 
own  thought,  his  very  countenance  unconsciously  bright 
ened.  His  heart  grew  light.  His  eyes  beamed  within 
him.  He  felt  a  sort  of  inspiration.  A  new  idea,  and  a 
happy  one  indeed,  sprang  like  an  angel  of  light  into  his 
mind. 

He  well  knew,  and  had  studied  much,  of  the  rise  and 
fall  of  the  grand  ancient  civilizations,  and  with  evil  fore 
bodings  hovering  like  a  dark,  dreary,  dangerous  cloud 
over  our  land,  he  had  often  pondered  long  as  to  what 
would  be  the  outcome  with  this  one.  As  he  went  to 
and  from  his  office  and  his  home,  and  each  day  met 
men  strong,  hearty,  but  pale-faced,  asking,  not  for  bread, 
but  in  the  name  of  God  for  work,  he  could  not  well  pre- 


34  THE     I^EGAL     REVOLUTION     OP     1902 

vent  the  question  recurring  to  his  mind.  He  had  often 
thought  the  last  star  of  hope  for  our  civilization  had  al 
most  set,  hut  as  he  sat  there  that  moment,  in  all-absorb 
ing  thought,  behind  a  suddenly  beaming  countenance, 
all  those  evil  forecasts  left  him.  Our  civilization  would 
live!  The  sad  pictures  of  strikes,  riots,  war,  famine,  and 
pestilence,  and  a  constantly  decaying  civilization,  were 
no  longer  stern  realities.  It  was  like  being  'awakened 
from  an  ugly  nightmare  by  the  sweet  chipper  of  the  birds 
on  a  bright  spring  morning,  with  the  beautiful  rays  of 
the  rising  sun  streaming  through  his  windows. 

He  had  seen,  as  by  a  flashlight,  the  people's  great  high 
way  to  peace,  to  prosperity,  and  to  happiness.  He  saw 
wherein  lay  the  power,  the  strength,  of  the  people.  The 
ballot  was  indeed  all-powerful.  'When  properly  applied 
it  was  above  and  -beyond  Congress  and  Courts.  It  was 
the  Legislature  that  made  laws  for  legislatures.  It  was 
the  Court  of  Courts,  and  from  its  decision  there  was  no 
appeal.  He  had  read  again,  for  the  first  time  in  years, 
the  article  (Xo.  V.)  in  the  I'nited  States  Constitution 
prodding  for  its  amendment,  and  J'or  a  Constitutional 
convention.  Through  the  I'nited  States  Constitutional 
convention  the  people's  will  was  law,  upon  which  no 
court  could  pass  judgment,  even  if  their  law  provided 
that  the  Court  itself  be  abolished  and  the  judges  retired 
to  private  life  without  salary  or  with  the  additional  pen 
alty  that  they  be  transported.  Anything  the  people 
wanted  they  might  have.  What  more  could  they  ask  or 
hope  for  by  resorting  to  riot  and  war?  How  many  of  the 
people  knew  this?  Practically  none  of  them. 

Mark  Mishler  then  and  there  declared  to  himself  that 


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